RK     MUNROE 


UeSB  LIBRARY 


[bee  p.  233 


"A    HORSEMAN    FLED    BEFORE    THEM*' 


iragnu 


A    TALE    OF    RECENT 
ADVENTURE    IN   CHINA 


BY 


SCirk 


AUTHOR  OK 

THE  "MATES  SERIES"  THE  "PACIFIC  COAST 
SERIES  "  "  FORWARD  MARCH  "  ETC. 


ILLUSTRATED 


NEW  YORK  AND  LONDON 
HARPER   &  BROTHERS  PUBLISHERS 

•905 


Copyright,  1904,  by  HARPER  &  BROTHERS. 

All  rights  nstrvtd. 

Published    October,    1904. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  A  STRANGER  IN  A  STRANGE  LAND.     ...  i 

II.  AMERICA'S  UNFRIENDLY  WELCOME.     ...  10 

III.  ROB  TO  THE  RESCUE 18 

IV.  A  TRIUMPH  FOR  Jo's  ENEMIES 26 

V.  THREATENED  VIOLENCE 35 

VI.  THE  SHERIFF  TAKES  PROMPT  MEASURES  .     .  44 

VII.  THE  SENTENCE  OF  THE  COURT 52 

VIII.  Jo's  ENEMIES  PREPARE  A  TRAP 61 

IX.  Jo  FINDS  THAT  HE  is  SOME  ONE  ELSE  .     .  70 

X.  WHAT  HAPPENED  ON  THE  WAY  TO  CHINA  .  79 

XI.  ACCEPT  A  KINDNESS  AND  PASS  IT  ALONG   .  88 

XII.  FROM   THE   GOLDEN    GATE   TO   THE    PEARL 

RIVER 97 

XIII.  IN  THE  WORLD'S  MOST  MARVELLOUS  CITY   .  106 

XIV.  A  TURN  OF  FORTUNE'S  TIDE 116 

XV.  IN  THE  HEART  OF  UNKNOWN  CHINA  .     .     .  125 

XVI.  "  FISTS  OF  RIGHTEOUS  HARMONY".     .     .     .  134 

XVII.  LEAPING  INTO  UNKNOWN  BLACKNESS  .     .     .  143 

XVIII.  A  SUPPER  OF  SACRED  EELS 151 

XIX.  AN  EXHIBITION  OF  THE  RAIN-GOD'S  ANGER  160 

XX.  ROB  MAKES  A  STARTLING  DISCOVERY.     .     .  169 

iii 


iv 

CHAPTBR 

XXI. 

XXII. 

XXIII. 

XXIV 

XXV. 

XXVI. 

XXVII. 

XXVIII. 

XXIX. 

XXX. 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

178 


THE  REFUGEES  OF  CHENG-TING-FU  . 

A  CHARGE  AND  A  RACE  FOR  LIFE   .     .     .  187 

STEALING  A  LOCOMOTIVE 196 

THE  TIMELY  EXPLOSION  OF  A  BOILER  .     .  204 

IN  CHINA'S  CAPITAL  CITY 213 

WAR  CLOUDS 222 

CHINA  DEFIES  THE  WORLD 231 

FIGHTING  SIXTY  FEET  ABOVE  GROUND  .     .  241 

Jo  HEAPS  COALS  OF  FIRE 250 

THE  CAPTURE  OF  PEKIN  .  260 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

"A   HORSEMAN    PLED   BEFORE   THEM"    ....      Frontispiece 
MAP   SHOWING   ROUTE   FOLLOWED   BY  AUTHOR    .   Facing  p.      I 

"AS  POOR  JO  LOST  HIS  FOOTING  AND  FELL,  ROB 

DASHED  INTO  THE  MELEE*' "  2O 

"  HIS  MADLY  YELLING  PURSUERS  WERE  NOW 

CLOSE  UPON  HIM" "  140 

"  THE  FUGITIVES  MADE  A  CAUTIOUS  ENTRY  INTO 

THE  SACRED  PRECINCTS  " "  152 

"HE  WAS  ABLE  TO  GAZE  CALMLY  AT  HER  WHEN 
THEY  ONCE  MORE  WERE  ESCORTED  PAST  THE 
CATHEDRAL" "  184 

"SO  THEY  DROVE  ON,  MILE  AFTER  MILE"     .     .        "       2O4 

"THE  SAVAGES  FLED  IN  DISMAY  BEFORE  THAT 

CHARGE  OF  YELLING  AMERICANS".  ...  "  248 


TO    MY    READERS 

THE  BLUE  DRAGON,  chosen  as  a  title  for  this  story, 
is  the  national  emblem  of  China,  adopted  as  such 
by  a  desire  to  flatter  and  propitiate  that  spirit  of 
evil  considered  to  be  the  most  powerful.  As  the 
dragon  is  believed  'to  be  big  enough  and  strong 
enough  to  overcome  and  devour  all  the  other 
wicked  genii  who  continually  vex  Chinese  life,  the 
wise  men  of  the  "Black-haired  People"  thought  it 
best  to  have  him  on  their  side,  and  consequently 
accorded  him  the  highest  honor  in  their  power  to 
bestow.  As  we  of  America  chose  the  eagle,  strong- 
est of  visible  air  spirits,  for  our  national  emblem, 
so  the  Chinese  chose  the  most  powerful  of  invisible 
spirits  in  whose  existence  they  believe  as  firmly  as 
we  do  in  the  existence  of  things  that  we  can  see, 
hear,  or  feel. 

In  the  story  thus  entitled,  I  have  endeavored  to 
give  an  idea  of  what  China  has  been,  is,  and  may 
become  through  education  and  development,  how 
she  is  regarded,  and  how  her  people  are  being 
treated  by  other  nations,  and  what  causes  she  has 
for  resentment  against  those  who  are  taking  ad- 
vantage of  her  feebleness  to  despoil  her. 

While  travelling  in  China,  and  trying  to  gain  the 


Viii  TO    MY    READERS 

Chinese  point  of  view,  I  met  so  many  charming 
people,  so  many  men  of  intelligence  and  liberal 
education,  honorable,  broad-minded,  and  devoted 
to  the  uplifting  of  their  unhappy  country,  that  I 
became  exceedingly  interested  in  their  cause,  and 
anxious  to  aid  it.  With  this  object  in  view  I  am 
striving,  through  the  medium  of  a  story,  to  present 
it  to  those  young  Americans  who,  in  the  near  future, 
will  be  called  upon  to  decide  the  ultimate  fate  of  the 
great  Middle  Kingdom.  With  them,  more  than 
with  any  other  people,  even  including  the  Chinese 
themselves,  will  rest  the  decision,  whether  China 
shall  remain  a  nation,  open  to  the  unobstructed 
commerce  of  the  world,  or  become  a  series  of  petty 
colonial  possessions  devoted  only  to  the  interests 
of  their  several  ruling  powers.  That  my  young 
readers  may  be  guided  to  a  wise  and  just  solution 
of  this  great  problem,  is  the  sincere  hope  of  their 

friend>  KIRK  MUNROE. 

BISCAYNE  BAY,  FLORIDA, 
January,  1904. 


THE  BLUE  DRAGON 

CHAPTER  I 
A    STRANGER    IN    A    STRANGE    LAND 

"CHINEE!  Chinee!  Chink!  Chink!  Chink!" 
These  epithets,  and  many  others  equally  con- 
temptuous, such  as  " Rat  Eater!"  and  "Piggy  Tail!" 
were  gleefully  shouted  by  a  mob  of  young  ragamuf- 
fins who  crowded  about  a  single  youthful  figure, 
early  one  summer  morning,  on  the  elm  -  shaded 
main  street  of  Hatton.  The  lad  thus  hustled  and 
insulted  was  a  good  -  looking  chap  according  to 
the  standard  of  his  own  people;  though  his  long- 
lashed,  wide-set  eyes  were  narrower  than  those  of 
his  tormentors,  his  clear  complexion  held  a  tint  of 
yellow,  the  front  half  of  his  head  was  shaved,  and 
the  remaining  luxuriant  growth  of  jet-black  hair, 
such  as  all  Chinese  have,  and  of  which  they  are  so 
proud  that  they  call  themselves  "the  black -haired 
people,"  hung  in  a  thick,  glossy  braid  down  his 
back.  He  wore  a  blue  gown  that  fastened  closely 
about  his  neck  and  fell  in  severely  simple  lines, 
without  belt  or  ornamentation,  almost  to  his  feet. 


2  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

Below  it  could  be  seen  a  pair  of  black  silk  trousers, 
tightly  fastened  over  a  narrow  section  of  white 
stockings,  that  in  turn  were  lost  to  view  in  black 
cloth  shoes  having  embroidered  tops  and  felt  soles. 
He  had  worn  a  round,  visorless  cap  of  black  silk, 
surmounted  by  a  crimson  knot,  but  this  had  been 
knocked  off,  and  now  was  being  ruthlessly  kicked 
and  trampled  underfoot  by  the  hoodlums  who,  hav- 
ing discovered  a  victim  that  could  be  abused  with 
impunity,  were  making  the  most  of  the  welcome 
chance.  Nor  were  they  without  encouragement  in 
their  cruel  sport;  for  a  group  of  men  and  young 
women,  on  their  way  to  the  great  factory  that  was 
at  once  the  mainstay  of  Hatton's  prosperity  and  an 
ever-threatening  menace,  had  paused  to  enjoy  the 
sight  of  a  crowd  of  American  boys  tormenting  a 
helpless  foreigner,  and  greeted  the  sorry  spectacle 
with  shouts  of  laughter. 

"That's  right,  kiddies!"  cried  one  of  the  men. 
"Down  with  the  yellowbelly,  and  teach  him  that 
this  country  ain't  no  place  fer  him  nor  his  kind." 

"Dirty,  rat-eating  scab!"  growled  another. 

"Somehow,  it  don't  seem  right,  though,"  said  one 
of  the  young  women,  with  a  tone  of  pity  in  her 
voice,  as  the  badgered  lad  was  suddenly  jerked 
backward  and  nearly  thrown  to  the  ground  by  a 
violent  pull  at  his  queue.  "He  does  look  so  like  a 
girl,  with  his  blue  dress,  his  little  hands,  and  his 
braided  hair." 

"Oh,  hush  up,  Mag!  You're  too  soft  for  any- 
thing!" exclaimed  another.  "He  ain't  nothing  but 


A  STRANGER  IN  A  STRANGE  LAND        3 

just  a  low-lived  heathen  Chinee,  like  them  as  runs 
the  laundry  over  to  Adams.  They'd  take  the  bread 
out  of  honest  working -people's  mouths  quick  as 
wink,  if  they  was  give  half  a  chance." 

Just  then  the  factory  bell  rang  with  insistent 
clamor,  and  the  jeering  group  of  workers  moved  on. 
At  a  meeting  held  a  few  evenings  before  they  had 
loudly  cheered  and  unanimously  passed  a  resolution 
to  the  effect  that  the  government  ought  immediate- 
ly to  deport  to  their  own  country,  at  their  own  ex- 
pense, all  Chinese  found  within  its  territory.  One 
of  the  speakers  had  declared  that,  if  the  govern- 
ment was  slow  in  doing  this  thing,  it  was  the  duty 
of  every  American  citizen  to  take  the  matter  into 
his  own  hands,  drive  out  the  Chinese  wherever 
found,  destroy  their  places  of  business,  and  hunt 
them  to  the  death  if  they  offered  resistance.  Of 
course,  the  children  of  those  men,  having  heard  this 
resolution  discussed,  and  its  accompanying  speeches 
repeated  with  applauding  comments,  deemed  it  their 
privilege  to  attack,  and,  if  possible,  drive  from  their 
virtuous  village  every  representative  of  the  hated 
race  they  might  encounter;  and,  unfortunately  for 
him,  poor,  innocent,  helpless  Chinese  Jo  was  the  first 
to  fall  into  their  joyful  clutches. 

This  was  the  first  experience  of  his  first  day  in 
Hatton,  which  he  had  reached  after  dark  the  even- 
ing before.  He  had  come  to  America,  from  his  far- 
away native  land,  in  company  with  a  dozen  others 
of  his  young  countrymen.  These  others  had  been 
sent  over  by  the  Chinese  government  to  be  educated 


4  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

and  taught  the  ways  of  Western  civilization;  and 
Jo's  father,  Li  Ching  Cheng,  a  progressive  mandarin, 
who  realized  the  value  of  such  an  education,  had 
seized  the  opportunity  to  add  his  one  dear  son  to 
the  party,  that  he  might  gain  the  priceless  advantage 
of  some  years  of  study  in  the  same  land. 

Now  it  happened  that  in  Mandarin  Li's  district 
labored  an  American  medical  missionary,  Mason 
Hinckley  by  name,  who  also  had  an  only  son.  When 
this  boy  was  four  years  old,  his  parents,  desirous 
that  he  should  have  an  American  training  from  the 
outset,  had  taken  him  to  the  United  States  and 
placed  him  in  charge  of  his  uncle  and  aunt,  the 
Rev.  William  and  Mrs.  Hinckley,  of  Hatton,  a  man- 
ufacturing village  of  the  lovely  Connecticut  valley. 
Then,  with  aching  hearts,  they  had  returned  to  their 
lonely  post  of  duty  in  China,  and  only  twice  during 
the  following  fourteen  years  were  they  able  to  visit 
their  boy. 

When  Mandarin  Li  announced  that  he,  too,  pro- 
posed to  send  a  son  to  America,  and  asked  if  the 
Hinckleys  could  not  arrange  to  have  him  received 
into  the  same  family  with  their  Rob,  they  gladly 
consented  to  do  what  they  could.  Their  hope  for 
their  own  boy  was  that  he  would  eventually  return 
to  China,  and  they  realized  the  value  to  him  of  a 
present  companionship  with  a  young  Chinese  of 
education  and  refinement.  So  a  letter  was  sent  to 
Hatton,  and  finally  everything  was  arranged  for  the 
comfort  and  happiness  of  Mandarin  Li's  son.  Thus 
he  was  sent  forth  on  his  long  journey,  half  -  way 


A  STRANGER  IN  A  STRANGE  LAND        5 

around  the  world,  filled  with  a  joyous  enthusiasm 
over  his  prospects. 

He  and  his  young  friends  travelled  in  charge 
of  a  home-returning  American,  who  had  promised 
to  see  them  safely  to  their  several  destinations  in 
New  England.  By  his  advice  they  adopted  English 
names  for  use  in  the  country  to  which  they  were 
bound,  and  our  lad  chose  that  of  Joseph.  As  his 
father's  surname  was  Li,  which,  in  Chinese,  is  pro- 
nounced "  Lee,"  he  thus  became  known  to  his  future 
teachers  and  more  precise  acquaintances  as  Joseph 
Lee;  but  all  his  American  boy  friends  called  him 
"Chinese  Jo,"  or  "China  Jo,"  or  "Chinee  Jo,"  ac- 
cording to  their  several  degrees  of  intelligence,  and 
it  is  thus  that  we  shall  know  him  as  we  accompany 
him  through  the  various  adventures  which  it  is  pro- 
posed to  record  in  the  following  pages. 

They  began,  as  already  has  been  seen,  with  his  very 
first  morning  in  the  new  home  that  he  had  reached 
the  evening  before,  tired  from  his  long  journey, 
bewildered  by  the  multitude  of  strange  sights  and 
experiences  that  had  crowded  thickly  about  him 
from  the  moment  of  landing  at  San  Francisco,  and 
terrified  at  the  great  loneliness  that  had  come  to 
him  with  the  departure  of  his  comrades,  who  had 
been  left,  by  twos,  at  other  places  before  Hatton 
was  reached.  At  the  last  of  these  points,  only  a 
few  miles  away,  the  gentleman  who  had  escorted 
them  from  China  had  been  obliged  to  send  him  on 
alone,  after  notifying  the  Hinckleys  by  telegraph  of 
his  coming. 


6  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

Rob  met  him  at  the  Hatton  station,  looked  after 
his  luggage  of  queer  camphor-wood  boxes,  and  took 
him  to  the  pleasant  parsonage  that  was  to  be  his 
home  in  the  strange  land.  Although  Jo  talked  only 
broken  English,  while  Rob  had  very  nearly  forgotten 
the  Chinese  of  his  childhood,  they  managed  to  con- 
verse after  a  fashion,  and  took  to  each  other  from 
the  very  first.  Rob,  eighteen  years  old,  brown, 
broad  -  shouldered,  and  sturdy,  offered  a  striking 
contrast  in  appearance  to  the  slender  lad  who  walk- 
ed, with  noiseless,  felt-shod  feet,  beside  him,  and  Jo 
at  once  conceived  a  liking  for  the  young  American, 
who  greeted  him  so  cordially,  took  charge  of  him 
and  his  affairs  with  such  an  air  of  authority,  and 
even  could  speak  a  few  words  of  intelligible  Chinese. 

Rob  also  was  pleased  with  the  foreign  lad,  whose 
appearance  recalled  a  happy  childhood  spent  in 
company  with  many  such  blue-clad  figures  on  the 
other  side  of  the  world.  At  the  same  time  he  was 
glad  that  Jo  had  not  reached  his  destination  a  few 
hours  earlier;  for  he  realized  that  the  strangeness 
of  his  companion's  costume  and  his  general  make- 
up would  have  attracted  much  unpleasant  attention 
from  the  village  boys  had  they  been  revealed  by 
daylight.  He  determined  to  urge  upon  his  uncle 
the  advisability  of  confining  Jo  to  the  house  on  the 
following  day,  or  until  he  could  be  provided  with  an 
outfit  of  American  clothing,  and  persuaded  to  wear 
his  hair  in  accordance  with  American  ideas. 

A  warm  welcome  and  a  good  supper  awaited  the 
young  traveller  at  the  parsonage;  and  under  their 


A  STRANGER  IN  A  STRANGE  LAND        7 

cheering  influence  his  homesickness  was,  for  the 
time  being,  forgotten.  His  boxes  were  promptly 
delivered  at  the  house,  and  from  them  he  took  the 
most  marvellous  array  of  gifts  for  various  members 
of  the  Hinckley  family  that  ever  had  been  seen  in 
Hatton.  To  Mrs.  Hinckley  he  presented  several 
superb  pieces  of  embroidered  silks  from  Canton,  a 
centre-piece  for  a  table  of  pale -blue  grass  linen, 
drawn  work  from  Swatow,  a  cloisonne"  teapot  from 
Pekin,  and  half  a  dozen  tiny  teacups  of  exquisite 
Foo-Chow  porcelain.  For  Mr.  Hinckley  he  had 
wonderful  ivory  carvings  in  the  shape  of  chessmen, 
and  a  wadded  silk  dressing-gown;  while  to  Rob,  in 
addition  to  several  jars  of  Chinese  confections,  in- 
cluding sugared  ginger -root,  bamboo -tips,  water- 
melon rind,  edible  sea-weeds,  and  palm-leaf  buds,  he 
gave  a  complete  suit  of  Chinese  clothing,  such  as  is 
worn  by  the  sons  of  wealthy  mandarins,  and  select- 
ed from  his  own  wardrobe.  It  was  in  striking  con- 
trast to  the  simple  scholar's  gown  of  light-blue  cot- 
ton cloth  that  he  had  adopted  as  an  inconspicuous 
travelling  costume ;  for  its  dark-blue  skirt  was  heav- 
ily embroidered  with  gold  thread;  it  had  a  jacket  of 
light-blue  silk,  with  wide,  flowing  sleeves,  a  wine-col- 
ored, sleeveless  over- jacket  of  the  same  rich  ma- 
terial, black  silk  trousers,  with  plum-colored  over- 
trousers,  a  light -blue  silk  cap,  with  a  crystal  but- 
ton on  top,  silken  socks,  and  gold-embroidered  felt 
shoes. 

Rob  gasped  with  amazement  when  the  various 
parts  of  this  superb  costume  were  unfolded  before 


8  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

him,  and  was  inclined  to  regard  it  with  contemptu- 
ous amusement. 

"All  these  silk  petticoats  and  things  for  a  boy!" 
he  sniffed.  "Catch  me  ever  wearing  such  a  lot  of 
girl's  stuff!  And,  I  say,  Uncle  Will,  that  reminds  me 
— don't  you  think  we'd  better  get  him  into  Amer- 
ican clothes,  and  have  his  pig -tail  cut  off,  before 
he  is  turned  loose  on  the  street.  He'll  jump  into 
no  end  of  trouble  if  he  shows  outside  in  anything 
like  these,  or  even  as  he  is  now.  It  looks  funny 
even  to  me,  and  I'll  bet  he  couldn't  walk  down  Main 
Street  without  being  mobbed." 

"  I  myself  think  that  the  sooner  he  conforms  to  the 
dress  and  customs  of  the  country  in  which  he  is  to 
reside  for  some  time  to  come,  the  better  it  will  be 
for  him,"  replied  Mr.  Hinckley.  "But,  Rob,  I  don't 
like  the  way  you  seem  inclined  to  treat  his  gift,  and 
I  am  very  glad  he  could  not  wholly  understand  what 
you  just  said  about  it.  A  gift  of  any  nature,  offered 
as  a  token  of  friendliness  and  good -will,  should  be 
accepted  in  the  same  spirit,  even  though  it  may  not 
be  just  what  you  would  have  chosen.  I  do  not  know 
of  anything  that  hurts  one's  feelings  more  keenly 
than  to  have  a  friendly  overture  contemptuously  re- 
jected." 

"Of  course,  I  wouldn't  hurt  his  feelings  for  any- 
thing, Uncle  Will,"  replied  Rob,  with  a  contrite  flush 
mounting  to  his  forehead.  "I  already  like  him  too 
much  for  that,  and  I  wouldn't  have  said  what  I  did 
about  his  present  if  I  had  thought.  I  do  thank  you 
ever  so  much,"  he  added,  turning  to  Jo,  "for  all  this 


A  STRANGER  IN  A  STRANGE  LAND        9 

silk  stuff.  I'm  awfully  glad  to  have  it,  and  I'll  put  it 
away  to  wear  at  my  first  fancy-dress  ball,  if  I  ever 
go  to  one.  Anyway,  whenever  I  look  at  it,  I'll  be 
reminded  that  Chinese  Jo  is  my  friend,  and  that  I 
am  his." 

Although  Jo  did  not  understand  all  the  words  thus 
spoken,  he  was  so  fully  satisfied  with  their  tone  and 
the  smile  that  accompanied  them  that,  a  little  while 
later,  when  he  went  to  bed,  he  was  happy  in  the 
consciousness  of  having  gained  a  friend  of  his  own 
age  in  this  strange  land  of  strangers. 


CHAPTER  II 

AMERICA'S  UNFRIENDLY  WELCOME 

IN  spite  of  Jo's  weariness  of  the  night  before,  and 
the  sound  sleep  that  followed,  he  was  out  of  bed  by 
sunrise  and  gazing  curiously  from  his  chamber  win- 
dow. The  air  was  sweet  and  cool,  the  arching  elms 
stood  motionless,  as  though  not  yet  awake,  and  be- 
tween them  he  caught  a  silvery  gleam  of  the  Con- 
necticut. Beyond  it  rose  soft,  swelling  hills,  and 
he  imagined  their  green  slopes  to  be  thickly  strewn 
with  graves,  as  always  is  the  case  in  China ;  on  them, 
too,  he  could  see  occasional  groves  of  trees,  each  of 
which  he  supposed  must  shelter  a  white  -  walled 
temple  or  sacred  shrine,  this  being  the  prime  object 
of  groves  in  his  native  land. 

He  wondered  at  not  seeing  any  tall-sailed  junks  or 
guard-boats  on  the  river,  and  at  the  utter  absence 
of  the  useless  but  picturesque  pagoda  towers  that 
add  so  much  to  the  beauty  of  every  Chinese  land- 
scape. Then,  remembering  that  America  is  a  very 
new  country  in  comparison  with  his  own,  he  con- 
cluded that  its  people  had  not  yet  found  time  to 
build  pagodas,  or,  perhaps,  were  too  poor.  Of 
course,  he  could  trace  no  resemblance  between  the 
broad,  well-shaded  avenue  below  him,  with  its  rows 

10 


AMERICA'S    UNFRIENDLY    WELCOME  II 

of  neat,  white  houses,  and  the  narrow,  crowded, 
shadeless  streets  to  which  he  was  accustomed.  At 
the  same  time,  the  green  country  on  which  he  gazed 
looked  so  very  like  a  bit  of  Chinese  river  valley  that 
he  longed  to  explore  it,  with  a  hope  of  finding 
thatched  farm  -  houses,  curve  -  roofed  temples,  or 
other  homelike  features  that  should  recall  his  own 
beloved  valley  of  the  Si-Kiang.  He  listened  with 
pleasure  to  the  singing  of  birds,  which  were  infinitely 
more  numerous  than  in  China,  and  to  the  tinkle  of 
cow-bells,  a  sound  he  never  before  had  heard.  He 
wished  he  might  go  down  to  the  street  and  begin 
at  once  his  study  of  the  many  strange  things  it  was 
certain  to  contain,  and  he  wondered  how  soon  a 
servant  would  appear  in  his  room  with  the  bowl  of 
tea  that  would  be  the  signal  for  rising. 

While  he  thus  was  cogitating,  he  heard  a  door  be- 
low him  open  and  close,  and  then  he  saw  his  newly 
made  friend,  Rob  Hinckley,  go  whistling  down  the 
street,  swinging  in  one  hand  a  bright  tin  milk -can. 
If  he  only  had  known  that  Rob  was  up  and  going 
out,  he  might  have  gone,  too.  Perhaps  even  now 
he  might  overtake  him  and  have  a  walk  in  his  com- 
pany. He  was  dressed,  and  the  only  thing  about 
him  not  thoroughly  presentable  was  his  queue, 
which,  not  yet  cared  for  that  morning,  looked  rough 
and  unkempt.  At  home  some  one  always  had 
combed  and  braided  it  for  him,  first  his  mother,  and 
afterwards  a  servant.  Since  coming  away,  one  of 
his  Chinese  companions  and  he  had  braided  each 
other's  queues  every  morning.  Now  Jo  wondered 


12  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

who  was  to  perform  this  service,  but  supposed  that 
sooner  or  later  some  servant  would  come  to  his 
assistance.  He  wished  the  lazy  fellow  had  ap- 
peared, and  that  this  most  important  feature  of  his 
toilet  had  been  attended  to,  for  in  China  no  gentle- 
man will  present  himself  on  the  street  or  in  com- 
pany unless  his  queue  is  carefully  braided  smooth 
and  glossy.  Exposed  to  public  view  in  any  other 
condition,  it  is  a  sign  that  its  owner  is  in  such  deep 
affliction  that  he  takes  no  interest  even  in  the  most 
important  affairs  of  life. 

Having  been  carefully  instructed  in  this  branch 
of  Chinese  etiquette,  Jo  was  puzzled  as  to  what  he 
should  do.  He  longed  to  join  Rob  on  his  walk,  but 
hesitated  to  offend  his  friend  by  appearing  before 
him  with  a  disordered  queue.  He  could  not  put  it 
in  order  himself,  and  no  one  was  at  hand  to  assist 
him.  Of  course,  he  might  conceal  the  fact  that  it 
was  frowzy  by  coiling  it  about  his  head  and  hiding 
it  beneath  his  cap ;  but  even  this  plan  had  its  draw- 
back, for  in  the  Flowery  Kingdom  it  is  an  almost 
unpardonable  offence  for  any  man  to  appear  in  the 
presence  of  his  superiors  with  queue  coiled  about 
his  head  or  in  any  other  way  hidden.  Still,  the 
only  superiors  recognized  at  present  by  Jo  were  the 
senior  Hinckleys,  and  by  going  down -stairs  very 
quietly  he  might  slip  out  of  the  house  without  at- 
tracting their  notice,  and  so  avoid  giving  offence. 

Thus  thinking,  the  lad  hastily  coiled  his  cherished 
but  at  that  moment  rather  disreputable  -  looking 
queue  closely  about  his  head,  pulled  his  cap  over 


AMERICA'S  UNFRIENDLY  WELCOME  13 

it,  and,  softly  opening  his  room  door,  stole  forth 
with  the  noiseless  tread  of  a  sneak-thief.  He  got 
safely  as  far  as  the  front  door,  but  there  he  made 
so  much  noise  fumbling  with  the  unfamiliar  latch  as 
to  attract  the  attention  of  Mr.  Hinckley,  who  was 
dressing,  and  he  called  down,  "Who's  there?" 

Not  understanding  the  question,  and  as  dismayed 
at  the  prospect  of  being  discovered  with  his  queue 
disrespectfully  coiled  as  an  American  boy  would  be 
if  caught  stealing  jam,  Jo  made  no  reply,  but  re- 
doubled his  efforts  at  the  door.  Suddenly,  as  he 
was  pulling  it  with  all  his  strength,  the  latch  turned 
and  the  door  flew  open,  sending  him  to  the  floor 
with  a  crash.  Mrs.  Hinckley  screamed,  and  her 
husband,  shouting  "Stop  thief!"  started  down- 
stairs. He  failed,  however,  to  reach  the  bottom  in 
time  to  discover  the  author  of  the  disturbance,  for 
Jo,  thoroughly  frightened  by  the  untoward  result 
of  his  efforts  to  enact  the  part  of  a  Chinese  gentle- 
man, had  hastily  scrambled  to  his  feet  and  fled 
through  the  now  wide-open  door.  Although  the 
minister  did  not  see  him,  Mrs.  Hinckley,  peeping 
between  the  half -closed  slats  of  the  window-blinds, 
did,  and  exclaimed: 

"  My  good  gracious,  William!  If  it  isn't  that  China 
boy!" 

"Nonsense,"  replied  Mr.  Hinckley,  as,  realizing 
the  futility  of  a  chase  under  existing  conditions,  he 
hastened  back  to  the  room. 

"I  tell  you  it  is,  for  I  just  saw  him  with  my  own 
eyes,  blue  dress  and  all,  go  flying  down  the  street 


14  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

as  though  the  constable  was  after  him.  I've  no 
doubt  he  ought  to  be,  too,  for  the  boy's  run  away — 
that's  what  he's  done  —  and  probably  taken  every 
mite  of  silver  in  the  house  with  him." 

"Nonsense!"  again  ejaculated  Mr.  Hinckley,  as  he 
slipped  on  a  pair  of  trousers. 

"You  may  say  'nonsense'  as  much  as  you  like," 
retorted  his  wife,  "but  you'll  think  something  else 
when  you  find  out  that  every  word  I'm  speaking 
is  solemn  truth.  I  always  did  mistrust  the  Chinese, 
and  so  would  you  if  you'd  heard  all  the  stories  I 
have  about  their  dreadful  wickedness  down  at  the 
society." 

"Didn't  know  any  of  them  belonged  to  the  so- 
ciety," interposed  Mr.  Hinckley,  unable  even  at  this 
critical  moment  to  resist  a  sly  joke  at  his  wife's  ex- 
pense. 

"You  know  what  I  mean,  William  Hinckley,  just 
as  well  as  I  do,"  was  the  reply;  "and  I  do  think  this 
is  a  pretty  time  to  be  poking  fun  at  your  poor  wife, 
when  a  pig-tailed  'yellow  peril,'  as  he  is  truly  called, 
is  running  off  with  every  mite  of  her  own  mother's 
family  silver.  It's  no  wonder  we  are  trying  to  ex- 
clude them,  and  I  only  wish  we'd  succeeded  before 
this  one  ever  came  to  Hatton.  They  do  say  down 
at  the  society  that  the  Chinese  are  about  to  overrun 
the  world;  and,  from  what  I've  just  seen,  I've  no 
doubt  it's  true." 

"Of  course,  it  must  be  so  if  they  say  so,  my  dear," 
answered  the  minister,  as  he  fastened  his  shirt-collar ; 
"but  I'll  try  some  overrunning  myself  after  this  first 


AMERICA'S  UNFRIENDLY  WELCOME  15 

'  yellow  peril '  who  has  ever  tried  to  overrun  Hatton. 
As  he  is  too  conspicuous  an  object  to  run  far  without 
attracting  attention,  I  expect  to  catch  up  with  him 
very  shortly,  and  to  return  with  him  inside  of  half 
an  hour.  Then  I  hope  breakfast  will  be  ready,  for 
both  of  us  are  certain  to  be  extremely  hungry  after 
our  exercise." 

"Perhaps  it  will,  if  he's  left  a  bit  of  food  in  the 
house  to  cook  or  a  thing  to  cook  with,  which  I 
doubt,"  retorted  Mrs.  Hinckley,  as  her  husband,  now 
wholly  dressed,  again  started  towards  the  street.  In 
the  mean  time,  Chinese  Jo,  quite  unaware  of  the 
turmoil  he  had  left  behind  him,  and  only  anxious 
to  overtake  Rob,  whom  he  just  could  see  far  down 
the  street,  had,  as  Mrs.  Hinckley  declared,  set  forth 
on  a  run  in  that  direction.  Also,  as  Mr.  Hinckley 
had  predicted,  he  was  too  strangely  conspicuous  to 
run  far  without  attracting  attention.  At  first  the 
few  people  on  the  street  at  this  early  hour  only 
stared  at  him,  but  after  a  little  they  began  to  call 
and  point  at  him,  and  boys  began  to  pursue  him 
with  joyous  shouts  of  anticipated  fun. 

All  at  once  Jo  discovered  that  Rob  no  longer  was 
in  sight,  and  also  that  a  number  of  small  boys,  all 
yelling  at  the  top  of  their  voices,  were  running  on 
both  sides  of  him.  Fearing  lest  he  might  pass  the 
place  where  he  had  last  seen  his  friend,  and  puzzled 
to  account  for  his  present  escort,  the  Chinese  lad 
stopped  and  looked  about  him.  He  had  reached 
the  village  common,  on  which  half  a  dozen  disrepu- 
table young  ragamuffins  were  playing  an  early  game 


l6  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

of  toss-penny.  These,  discerning  in  his  presence  a 
more  exciting  interest,  promptly  abandoned  their 
game  and  ran  whooping  towards  him. 

Now,  for  the  first  time,  Jo  began  to  feel  nervous 
and  wish  that  he  had  not  ventured  out  among  these 
barbarians  unprotected.  All  the  terrible  stories  he 
had  heard  concerning  the  cruel  treatment  of  his 
countrymen  by  Americans  surged  into  his  memory 
and  filled  him  with  dismay.  Never  before  had  he 
believed  them,  but  now  it  seemed  probable  that 
some  of  them  might  be  true. 

No  Chinese  is  a  fighter,  either  by  nature  or  edu- 
cation, and  Jo  was  not  an  exception  to  this  rule. 
Thus  he  would  have  fled  from  his  present  unhappy 
position  had  flight  been  possible,  but  it  was  not.  He 
was  completely  encircled  by  his  merciless  tormentors, 
who,  as  they  realized  his  utter  helplessness,  became 
more  and  more  bold  in  their  attacks.  At  first  they 
only  hooted,  jeered,  and  called  him  names.  Then 
they  began  to  hustle  and  push  him.  At  length  one 
of  them  snatched  off  his  cap  and  flung  it  to  the 
ground,  where  it  was  trampled  underfoot  and  kick- 
ed from  one  to  another.  With  the  loss  of  his  cap 
Jo's  queue  was  uncoiled  from  about  his  head  and 
dropped  down  his  back.  In  this  position  it  was 
caught  and  jerked  by  one  and  another  of  the  yell- 
ing mob  until  its  wretched  owner  was  half  crazed 
by  pain  and  fright.  Thus  he  was  shoved  and  pulled, 
spun  giddily  round  and  round,  pelted  with  mud, 
and  repeatedly  struck  with  sticks  or  clinched  fists. 
His  blue  gown  was  torn  in  many  places,  and  his  face 


AMERICA'S  UNFRIENDLY  WELCOME  17 

was  bleeding.  Finally  he  slipped,  failed  in  a  con-, 
vulsive  effort  to  save  himself,  and  fell,  carrying  to 
earth  with  him  one  of  the  young  miscreants  at  whom 
he  had  clutched  as  he  went  down. 

Jo's  fall  was  greeted  by  yells  of  delight  from  the 
imps  who  had  caused  it,  but  directly  their  jubila- 
tions were  exchanged  for  howls  of  dismay  and  pain. 
At  the  critical  moment  an  avenger  had  appeared 
among  them,  and  he  was  dealing  furious  blows  at 
their  unguarded  bodies  with  a  terrible,  flashing 
weapon,  that  scattered  them  as  chaff  is  scattered 
by  a  fierce  wind. 


CHAPTER  III 
ROB    TO    THE    RESCUE 

ROB  HINCKLEY  had  gone  out  early  on  that  event- 
ful morning  for  the  family  milk  that  he  fetched  every 
day  from  a  small  farm  at  the  lower  end  of  the  village. 
His  mind  was  full  of  the  strange,  new  companion 
who  had  come  into  his  life  the  evening  before ;  and,  as 
he  went  whistling  down  the  street,  he  was  planning 
how  he  should  introduce  him  to  the  boys  of  Hatton. 
He  also  wondered  on  what  terms  they  would  receive 
the  young  foreigner,  who  was  in  every  way  so  differ- 
ent from  any  other  they  ever  had  met. 

"Of  course,  they'll  treat  him  all  right,  though," 
reflected  Rob.  "They  may  think  him  funny  and 
laugh  at  him  a  little,  to  begin  with;  but  when  I  tell 
'em  who  he  is  in  his  own  country,  they'll  be  proud 
enough  to  have  him  in  the  school.  I'll  have  to 
keep  him  out  of  sight  of  the  muckers,  though,  at  any 
rate  till  he  gets  some  civilized  clothes  and  learns  how 
to  wear  'em." 

Here  Rob  stared  with  a  decidedly  unfriendly 
scowl  at  the  group  of  young  gamblers  on  the  village 
common,  across  which  he  was  walking.  "Wouldn't 
it  just  be  pie  for  them  to  get  hold  of  him,  blue  dress, 
pig-tail,  and  all?"  he  reflected;  "and  wouldn't  he 

18 


BOB    TO    THE    RESCUE  IQ 

think  he'd  run  up  against  a  war  party  of  American 
Indians,  ready  to  scalp  him?  They  won't  have  a 
chance  at  him,  though,  not  if  I  know  it." 

Here  Rob  straightened  himself,  clinched  his  un- 
occupied hand,  and  held  his  head  higher  than  ever, 
for  there  is  nothing  that  so  increases  one's  sense  of 
importance  as  to  have  a  weaker  person  dependent 
upon  him. 

There  was  much  bitterness  of  feeling  existing  be- 
tween two  classes  of  Hatton  boys,  one  of  which  was 
more  or  less  connected  with  the  factory,  while  the 
other  attended  the  academy  for  which  the  village 
was  famous.  The  latter  called  their  enemies  "muck- 
ers," and  these  retorted  with  the  term  "saphead." 
Members  of  these  opposed  factions  always  exchanged 
sneers  and  taunts  upon  meeting,  and  sometimes 
these  led  to  blows  that  resulted  in  fierce  conflicts. 
None  of  these  fights  had  taken  place  on  the  common, 
however,  for  the  village  constable  had  declared  it  to 
be  neutral  ground,  and  threatened  with  dire  punish- 
ment any  boy  who  should  break  the  public  peace 
within  its  limits.  As  the  constable  generally  was 
somewhere  in  the  vicinity  of  the  common,  ready  to 
enforce  his  ruling,  it  had  been  obeyed  thus  far,  and 
both  the  boyish  factions  had  used  the  open  space  as 
a  playground  in  apparent  harmony.  So  Rob  Hinck- 
ley  only  scowled  at  the  muckers,  who  occupied  one 
corner  of  the  common  as  he  crossed  it  that  morn- 
ing, while  they,  in  turn,  pretended  ignorance  of  his 
presence. 

On  his  return,  however,  affairs  had  assumed  a 


2O  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

very  different  aspect,  and  as  Rob  drew  near  the 
common  he  pricked  up  his  ears  at  the  sounds  that 
came  to  him  from  that  ordinarily  peaceful  enclos- 
ure. "What  could  they  mean?  Were  the  muckers 
fighting  among  themselves?"  Rob  believed  they 
were,  and  chuckled  at  thought  of  what  Constable 
Jones  would  do  when  he  discovered  them.  This 
belief  was  strengthened  as  he  came  within  sight  of 
the  fracas,  for  at  first  he  could  only  see  a  lot  of 
yelling  muckers,  apparently  engaged  in  a  furious 
struggle.  Then  he  uttered  an  exclamation  of  dis- 
may, and  the  hot  blood  flew  to  his  face.  In  the  very 
centre  of  the  surging  crowd  he  saw  a  slender,  blue- 
clad  figure,  taller  than  any  of  those  swarming  about 
it,  and  realized  that  the  very  thing  he  most  had 
dreaded  in  connection  with  his  newly  made  friend 
from  China  had  come  to  pass.  Chinese  Jo,  whom  he 
had  thought  to  be  peacefully  and  safely  asleep  in 
the  parsonage,  evidently  had  left  it  unnoticed,  and 
at  once  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  most  merci- 
less of  American  savages. 

With  a  hoarse  yell  of  rage,  and  careless  of  what 
might  happen  to  himself,  Rob  sprang  forward, 
swinging  the  milk-can  above  his  head  as  he  ran.  So 
busy  were  the  tormentors  of  the  Chinese  lad  with 
their  sport  that  the  coming  of  a  would-be  rescuer 
was  unnoticed  until  he  was  close  upon  them.  As 
poor  Jo  lost  his  footing  and  fell,  Rob  dashed  into 
the  mele'e,  dealing  telling  blows  with  his  milk-can, 
and  scattering  the  horde  of  young  toughs  as  though 
he  had  been  a  charge  of  cavalry.  The  stopper  flew 


"AS  POOR  JO  LOST  HIS  FOOTING  AND  FELL,  ROB  DASHED 
INTO  THE  MELEE" 


BOB    TO    THE    RESCUE  21 

out  of  the  can,  and  its  contents  were  flung  to  right 
and  left,  impartially  drenching  friend  and  foe.  Thus, 
for  a  minute,  the  tide  of  battle  flowed  with  the 
righteously  wrathful  Rob  and  against  the  cowardly 
and  unrighteous  muckers.  Then  one  of  the  latter, 
who  had  not  yet  been  reached  by  the  deadly  milk- 
can,  and  so  could  view  the  proceedings  more  calmly 
than  could  his  companions,  shouted: 

"There  ain't  but  one  saphead,  fellers!  Go  for 
him!  Kill  him!  He  ain't  no  good!" 

The  cry  was  heard  and  obeyed.  In  spite  of  the 
demoralizing  effects  of  the  milk-can,  the  muckers 
rallied,  and  in  another  moment  affairs  would  have 
gone  very  badly  with  both  our  lads.  But  providen- 
tially sent  peace-makers  were  at  hand,  and,  ere  the 
enemy  could  rally  to  an  attack,  they  were  put  to  ig- 
nominious flight  by  overwhelming  forces  that  simul- 
taneously appeared  upon  the  field  of  battle  from  two 
sides.  Parson  Hinckley  and  Constable  Jones  had  ar- 
rived in  the  nick  of  time. 

"What  is  the  meaning  of  this  disgraceful  exhi- 
bition, Robert?"  demanded  the  former,  sternly,  as 
the  flight  of  the  enemy  revealed  his  nephew,  flushed, 
breathless,  hatless,  swinging  a  badly  battered  tin  can 
in  one  hand,  and  with  milk  streaming  from  every 
part  of  his  figure. 

"Yes,"  chimed  in  Constable  Jones,  wrathfully, 
' '  what  does  it  mean  ?  You  can't  say  that  you  didn't 
know  my  orders  again'  scrimmaging  on  the  common ; 
and  yet  here  you  be,  caught  red-handed  in  the  very 
act." 


22  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

"I'd  call  it  'white-handed,'"  replied  Rob,  with  a 
grin,  at  the  same  time  holding  out  a  grimy,  milk- 
dripping  paw. 

"I  don't  want  no  sass,  young  feller,  but  a  plain 
statement  of  facts,"  retorted  the  constable,  sharply. 

"Well,"  replied  Rob,  "all  I  know  is  this:  That 
gang  of  muckers  were  killing  my  friend,  just  because 
he  happens  to  be  a  Chinese,  and  I  got  here  just  in 
time  to  save  him." 

"Chinee,  is  he?"  queried  the  constable,  gazing  cu- 
riously at  the  lad  whom  Mr.  Hinckley  was  assist- 
ing to  his  feet.  "Looks  like  he'd  been  doing  some 
killing  on  his  own  hook,"  he  added,  quickly,  as  he 
caught  sight  of  the  small  mucker  who  had  become 
involved  in  Jo's  fall,  and  who  still  lay  motionless  on 
the  ground.  He  had  been  knocked  breathless,  but, 
as  the  constable  knelt  beside  him  and  lifted  his  head, 
the  boy  gasped.  Then  he  opened  his  eyes. 

"I'm  kilt,  and  de  Chink  done  it,"  he  murmured, 
indistinctly. 

"It  looks  like  rather  a  serious  case,  parson,"  said 
the  constable,  solemnly;  "more  especial  as  there's 
a  heathen  Chinee  mixed  into  it.  I  believe  it's  my 
duty  to  arrest  all  parties  concerned,  and  hold  'em 
for  examination  by  Square  Burtis." 

"You  needn't  arrest  these  two,"  replied  Mr. 
Hinckley,  indicating  Jo  and  his  nephew,  "for  I  am 
just  as  anxious  for  an  investigation  into  this  affair 
as  you  can  be.  It  is  my  belief  that  a  most  wanton 
outrage  has  been  perpetrated,  for  which  the  guilty 
parties  should  be  punished,  and  I  give  you  my  word 


BOB    TO    THE    RESCUE  23 

that  both  these  lads  shall  appear  with  me  before 
Justice  Burtis  whenever  summoned  to  do  so." 

By  this  time  curious  spectators  were  beginning 
to  gather.  The  dispersed  muckers,  reinforced  by 
others  of  their  kind,  were  shouting  taunts  and  de- 
risive epithets  from  a  safe  distance,  and,  rather  than 
invite  further  trouble,  the  constable  hastily  agreed 
to  the  minister's  proposition.  So  he  departed  in 
one  direction,  taking  with  him  the  small  tough,  and 
thus  diverting  to  himself  the  unpleasant  attention 
of  that  element  among  the  rapidly  increasing  spec- 
tators. 

A  number  of  those  who  remained  walked  towards 
the  parsonage  with  Mr.  Hinckley  and  his  companions, 
plying  them  with  questions  and  gazing  curiously  at 
the  tattered  young  Chinese,  who,  frightened  and  un- 
happy, walked  silently  between  his  friends.  Real- 
izing that  this  was  neither  the  time  nor  place  for 
explanations,  Rob's  uncle  did  not  demand  any,  but, 
cautioning  the  boys  not  to  talk,  replied  to  all  ques- 
tions that  the  whole  affair  would  shortly  be  investi- 
gated in  court. 

When  they  reached  the  parsonage,  and  Mrs. 
Hinckley,  in  the  back  of  the  house,  heard  their 
voices,  she  called  out: 

"Is  that  you,  Rob?  I'm  glad,  for  I  want  some 
milk,  right  away." 

"Here  it  is,  Aunt  Alice,"  answered  the  boy,  pre- 
senting himself  with  his  battered  tin  can,  a  little 
ruefully,  but  at  the  same  time  with  a  twinkle  in  his 
eyes,  at  the  kitchen  door. 


24  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

"Good  gracious,  Rob !  What  has  happened ?"  cried 
the  astonished  woman. 

"Only  a  little  scrap,  Aunt  Alice,  that  I  couldn't 
help  getting  into  on  Jo's  account." 

"Was  that  China  boy  mixed  up  in  it?  But,  of 
course,  he  was.  I've  felt  it  from  the  first  that  he'd 
make  trouble." 

"But  it  wasn't  his  fault,  Aunt  Alice;  I'm  sure 
of  that,"  asserted  Rob,  earnestly.  "He  was  being 
shamefully  abused  by  the  muckers,  who  came  mighty 
near  killing  him." 

The  next  half -hour,  with  breakfast  entirely  for- 
gotten, was  devoted  to  explanations,  and,  by  the 
end  of  that  time,  the  whole  affair  was  pretty  thor- 
oughly understood.  Jo's  sufferings  at  the  hands  of 
his  tormentors  had  the  one  good  effect  of  transform- 
ing Mrs.  Hinckley's  mistrust  of  him  into  a  warm 
sympathy  that  afterwards  developed  into  a  real  lik- 
ing for  the  gentle  fellow. 

A  little  later,  while  they  were  at  breakfast,  came 
the  expected  summons  for  Mr.  Hinckley,  his  nephew 
Robert  Hinckley,  and  a  Chinese  lad  known  to  be 
an  inmate  of  the  parsonage,  to  appear  at  ten  o'clock 
that  very  morning  in  Justice  Burtis's  court-room  for 
examination  in  connection  with  the  recent  fracas  on 
Hatton  common. 

While  Mr.  Hinckley  went  to  see  the  justice  and 
prefer  charges  against  several  of  the  young  muck- 
ers, whose  names  had  been  given  him  by  Rob,  for  as- 
saulting his  ward,  Joseph  Lee,  the  two  lads  changed 
their  clothing  and  prepared  to  make  a  respectable 


ROB    TO    THE    RESCUE  2g 

appearance  in  court.  While  they  were  thus  en- 
gaged, Rob,  to  the  delight  of  both  of  them,  found 
his  early  knowledge  of  Chinese  returning  to  him  so 
rapidly  that  he  was  able  to  understand  much  of 
what  Jo  said. 

Acting  on  Mr.  Hinckley's  advice,  the  latter  arrayed 
himself  in  his  very  richest  robes,  and  Mrs.  Hinck- 
ley's sympathy  so  far  overcame  her  prejudice  that, 
when  she  discovered  him  making  a  sorry  attempt 
to  do  up  his  queue,  she  offered  to  braid  it  for  him. 

"To  think  that  I  ever  should  do  such  a  thing!"  she 
exclaimed.  "  But,  Rob,  what  do  you  suppose  he  wants 
all  this  white  stuff  worked  into  it  for?"  she  added. 
"I'm  sure  his  pig-tail  is  long  enough  without  it." 

The  white  stuff  thus  referred  to  was  some  strands 
of  silk  braid  and  a  silken  tassel,  and,  after  asking  Jo 
concerning  it,  Rob  explained  to  his  aunt  that,  as 
white  is  the  Chinese  color  for  mourning,  their  young 
guest  wore  it  in  memory  of  his  mother,  who  had  died 
less  than  a  year  before. 

"Poor  fellow!"  said  Mrs.  Hinckley.  "But  what 
a  very  curious  custom!" 

At  length  both  lads  were  pronounced  presentable, 
each  according  to  the  fashion  of  his  own  country, 
and,  Mr.  Hinckley  having  returned,  the  whole  family 
set  forth  towards  the  little  building  in  which  Justice 
of  the  Peace  Burtis  held  court. 

"It  is  not  of  my  first  day  the  manner  I  had  ex- 
pected to  spend  it,"  Jo  confided  to  Rob,  as  they 
walked  down  the  street. 

"I  should  say  not!"  replied  the  latter. 


CHAPTER  IV 
A    TRIUMPH    FOR   jo's    ENEMIES 

THE  little  court -room  was  already  crowded  when 
our  party  reached  it,  and  Jo's  appearance  created 
a  sensation.  The  muckers  and  their  friends,  many 
of  whom  were  on  hand,  scowled  at  him,  and  made 
sneering  remarks  concerning  his  country,  his  cos- 
tume, and  especially  about  his  queue,  which  seemed, 
more  than  anything  else,  to  excite  their  animosity. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  better  class  of  spectators 
were  impressed  by  the  intelligence  shown  in  the 
lad's  face,  his  air  of  high  breeding,  and  by  the  rich- 
ness of  his  dress,  which  was  much  handsomer  than 
anything  of  the  kind  ever  before  seen  in  Hatton. 

Mr.  Hinckley  was  the  first  witness  examined,  and 
he  told  of  the  Chinese  lad's  coming  to  America,  and 
why  he  had  done  so.  Then  Jo  himself  was  called 
to  the  stand,  and,  with  Rob  acting  as  interpreter,  he 
gave  his  account  of  the  recent  fracas,  a  simple  state- 
ment that  drew  forth  indignant  murmurs  from  the 
better  class  of  spectators.  After  that  the  witness- 
stand  was  occupied  by  several  of  the  young  toughs 
who  had  participated  in  the  affair.  Their  accounts 
of  what  had  happened  were  confused  and  contra- 
dictory, but  in  general  were  to  the  effect  that  they 

26 


A    TRIUMPH    FOR   JO  S    ENEMIES  27 

were  only  looking  at  the  stranger  who  had  so  unex- 
pectedly appeared,  running  down  the  village  street, 
and  laughing  a  little  at  his  pig-tail;  that  he  had 
flown  into  a  violent  rage,  and  had  flung  one  of  their 
number  to  the  ground,  where  he  endeavored  to 
choke  him  to  death.  They  further  testified  that 
while  they  were  trying  to  save  their  comrade's  life 
by  dragging  the  enraged  heathen  off  from  him,  they 
suddenly  were  set  upon  by  Rob  Hinckley,  who  se- 
verely beat  and  seriously  wounded  several  of  them 
with  a  milk-can  before  they  could  escape  from  his 
furious  and  unprovoked  attack.  In  support  of  this 
testimony,  the  boy  who  had  been  involved  in  Jo's 
fall  was  produced  and  allowed  to  tell  his  story,  as 
were  several  who  bore  marks  of  Rob's  effective 
weapon.  A  statement  from  the  constable  was  then 
heard,  and  it  served  so  to  strengthen  the  testimony 
just  taken  that,  when  Mr.  Jones  finished  his  story 
and  an  adjournment  until  two  o'clock  was  ordered, 
the  case  of  our  friends  looked  very  black.  Nor  did 
it  brighten  during  the  afternoon  session,  for  Rob 
could  not  swear  that  he  had  seen  any  specific  act  of 
violence  committed  by  any  one  of  those  who  had 
surrounded  the  young  Chinese  on  the  common.  Mr. 
Hinckley  also  failed  to  help  the  case,  for  he  was 
forced  to  admit  that  when  he  reached  the  scene  of 
trouble  the  alleged  assailants  of  the  Chinese  lad  were 
in  full  flight  before  his  nephew,  and  that,  while  they 
were  rallying  to  an  attack,  he  did  not  see  them  com- 
mit any  overt  act.  He  also  was  made  to  describe 
the  relative  positions  of  Jo  and  the  boy  who  had 


28  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

shared  his  fall,  and,  as  his  testimony  on  this  point 
agreed  with  all  that  had  preceded,  excepting  that  of 
Jo  himself,  it  served  still  further  to  strengthen  the 
cause  of  the  muckers. 

After  this  the  only  effort  made  to  help  what  ev- 
idently was  a  weak  case  was  Mrs.  Hinckley's  de- 
scription of  Jo's  appearance  when  he  reached  home, 
together  with  her  production  of  the  tattered  blue 
gown  he  had  worn.  Her  story  seemed  to  produce 
a  good  effect  upon  the  justice,  until,  taking  the  gar- 
ment into  his  own  hands  for  examination,  he  said: 

"  Madam,  this  coat,  or  dress,  or  whatever  it  may  be 
called,  seems  to  be  badly  stained  and  still  is  damp. 
Can  you  tell  me  by  what  fluid  it  has  been  saturated  ? 
Is  it,  by  any  chance,  blood  from  the  veins  of  this 
Joseph  Lee,  and  caused  to  flow  by  the  ill  treatment 
he  is  alleged  to  have  suffered?" 

"No,"  replied  Mrs.  Hinckley,  shortly;  "it's  milk." 

This  answer  was  greeted  by  a  roar  of  laughter 
from  the  crowded  court -room,  and,  when  quiet  had 
with  some  difficulty  been  restored,  the  justice  an- 
nounced his  decision: 

"The  examination  of  witnesses  in  this  case,"  he 
said,  "will  proceed  no  further,  as  the  testimony  al- 
ready submitted  is  more  than  sufficient  to  warrant 
me  in  committing  the  principals  for  trial  at  the  next 
session  of  the  county  court.  Moreover,  as  the  case 
has  assumed  an  aspect  so  much  more  serious  than  I 
had  anticipated,  I  am  obliged  to  bind  over  Robert 
Hinckley  and  Joseph  Lee  in  the  sum  of  five  hundred 
dollars  each  for  appearance  before  said  court.  I 


A    TRIUMPH    FOR   JO  S    ENEMIES  29 

shall  require  these  bonds  in  each  case  to  be  signed 
by  two  responsible  tax-payers  of  this  district.  If 
such  signatures  cannot  be  procured,  Robert  Hinckley 
and  Joseph  Lee  will  be  confined  in  the  county  jail 
until  the  time  for  their  trial  shall  arrive.  Also, 
pending  the  execution  of  said  bonds,  they  are  re- 
manded to  the  custody  of  the  Hatton  village  con- 
stable, who  is  hereby  charged  with  their  safe-keep- 
ing." 

"Whew!"  ejaculated  Rob  under  his  breath. 
' '  Prisoners !  Jail !  In  custody !  That  sounds  worse 
than  any  scrape  I  ever  got  into  before ;  and  what  a 
lovely  beginning  for  Jo's  experience  of  free  America!" 

The  decision  was  hailed  with  jubilation  by  the 
muckers  and  their  friends,  who,  as  they  streamed 
into  the  open  air,  gave  vent  to  their  feelings  through 
derisive  yells  and  taunting  remarks  concerning  "pig- 
tails" and  "sapheads." 

Jo,  who  until  now  had  watched  the  proceedings 
with  grave  curiosity,  though  with  but  slight  under- 
standing of  what  was  taking  place,  was  made  to 
realize  by  these  sounds  of  rejoicing  from  the  other 
side  that  something  had  gone  wrong,  and  he  glanced 
inquiringly  towards  his  friend. 

"Yes,"  said  Rob,  speaking  in  fragmentary  but  in- 
telligible Chinese,  "the  case  has  gone  against  us  so 
far,  and  you  and  I  must  go  to  prison  unless  some 
one  will  put  up  the  money  to  keep  us  out." 

"  My  father  is  a  mandarin,  and  can  furnish  enough 
money  to  buy  my  freedom  from  any  foreign  prison," 
exclaimed  Jo,  with  flushing  cheeks. 


30  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

"Yes,  of  course,"  replied  Rob;  "but  in  this  case 
it  happens  that  only  American  money  will  be  ac- 
cepted." 

"Then  let  me  go  to  prison,"  said  Jo,  proudly,  "for 
my  father  does  not  choose  that  I  should  incur  obli- 
gations." 

So  determined  was  the  Chinese  lad  upon  this 
course  that  even  when  Mr.  Hinckley  had  arranged 
the  bond  business  with  some  of  his  friends,  and  the 
boys  were  free  to  depart,  it  was  with  the  greatest  dif- 
ficulty that  he  could  be  persuaded  to  leave  the  court- 
room. Only  after  Rob  had  repeatedly  assured  him 
that  Mr.  Hinckley  was  acting  as  agent  for  his  father, 
who,  in  the  end,  would  be  called  upon  to  meet  all  ex- 
penses connected  with  the  trial,  did  the  proud  young 
chap  consent  to  accompany  his  friends  to  their  home. 

Although  the  case  thus  far  seemed  to  have  gone 
against  our  lads,  it  had  the  good  result  of  arousing 
much  interest  in  Jo  and  creating  many  friends  for 
him  among  the  best  people  of  Hatton.  Thus  many 
times  the  amount  of  the  bonds  demanded  by  Justice 
Burtis  had  promptly  been  forth-coming  the  moment 
his  decision  was  rendered.  That  evening  the  par- 
sonage was  crowded  with  those  who  wished  to  tender 
sympathy  and  friendship  to  the  young  stranger  who 
had  received  so  cruel  a  reception  in  the  land  that 
had  promised  so  much,  and  to  whose  honor  he  had 
so  trustingly  confided. 

The  young  Chinese  was  made  to  feel  almost  hap- 
py, and  much  of  his  homesickness  vanished  as  Rob 
translated  the  friendly  sentiments  of  his  visitors,  and 


A    TRIUMPH    FOR    JOS    ENEMIES  31 

he  realized  that,  in  spite  of  his  recent  experience, 
America  did  contain  people  of  kindly  disposition, 
who  held  honor  and  fair  dealing  in  esteem.  Thus 
the  darkness  that  had  so  heavily  overshadowed  this 
first  day  in  his  new  home  was  decidedly  lightened 
before  its  end;  and  he  went  to  bed  that  night  pos- 
sessing a  wealth  of  new  experience  in  which  evil  and 
good  were  very  nearly  balanced. 

The  following  day  was  largely  devoted  to  procur- 
ing for  Jo  a  complete  outfit  of  American  clothes, 
and  in  teaching  him  to  weai  them.  For  a  time 
these  rendered  him  very  miserable.  Never  had  his 
legs  seemed  so  long  or  so  conspicuous  as  they  now 
appeared,  divested  of  skirts  and  encased  in  trousers. 
Never  before  had  he  worn  garments  fitting  him  so 
closely  that  he  doubted  if  they  would  allow  him  to 
eat  enough  to  satisfy  his  hunger,  and  he  was  sur- 
prised to  find  that  he  still  could  draw  a  full  breath. 
He  was  amazed  at  the  number  of  pockets  they  con- 
tained, since  never,  until  now,  had  he  possessed  even 
one,  and  he  wondered  what  he  should  find  to  put 
in  them.  He  approved  of  a  hat  that  shaded  his 
eyes,  but  felt  most  noisy  and  uncomfortable  in  the 
harsh  leather  shoes  that  replaced  his  own  of  cloth. 

But  all  these  troubles  were  insignificant  when  com- 
pared with  the  great  grief  that  came  to  him  that 
same  day.  It  was  nothing  more  nor  less  than  the 
loss  of  his  cherished  queue,  which  both  Mr.  Hinckley 
and  Rob  advised,  and  almost  insisted,  should  be 
cut  off. 

"  It  is  the  distinguishing  mark  of  my  nationality," 


32  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

he  pleaded,  "and  without  it  people  might  take  me 
for  a  Japanese,  or  even  for  a  Korean.  Also,  it  is  a 
symbol  of  loyalty  to  my  emperor,  for  in  China  every 
man  without  a  queue  is  regarded  as  a  rebel,  and  is 
liable  to  lose  his  head.  Without  it  I  should  feel 
ashamed  to  look  my  friends  in  the  face.  No,  I  can- 
not give  it  up!" 

When  all  this  was  interpreted  to  Mr.  Hinckley, 
he  replied: 

"Tell  him  that,  while  I  realize  the  force  of  what 
he  says,  I  still  must  urge  him  to  make  the  sacrifice. 
After  all,  the  wearing  of  the  queue  is  comparatively 
recent  in  China.  Jo's  ancestors  of  less  than  three 
hundred  years  ago  did  not  wear  them;  nor  did  they 
shave  their  heads,  that  custom  being  forced  upon 
them  by  their  Manchu,  or  Tartar,  conquerors,  early 
in  the  seventeenth  century.  The  latter  wore  the 
queue,  or  horse-tail,  depending  from  their  heads,  and 
long  coat-sleeves,  shaped  at  the  end  like  horses'  hoofs, 
to  show  that  they  were  horsemen;  and  when  they 
conquered  China  they  compelled  their  new  subjects 
to  adopt  both  these  features.  Now,  as  Jo  says,  to 
discard  the  queue  in  China  is  a  sign  of  rebellion 
against  the  government;  but  it  cannot  be  so  con- 
sidered when  a  Chinese  is  in  a  foreign  land,  and 
subject  to  great  inconvenience,  not  to  say  danger,  if 
he  does  not  conform  to  the  customs  of  the  country 
in  which  he  resides.  Here,  for  instance,  if  Jo  per- 
sists in  wearing  his  queue  with  an  American  costume, 
it  will  render  him  very  conspicuous  and  liable  to 
constant  ridicule,  if  not  insult  and  abuse,  from  ig- 


A    TRIUMPH    FOR   JO  S    ENEMIES  33 

norant  or  vicious  members  of  the  community,  while 
without  it  he  rarely  will  attract  unusual  attention. 
When  he  is  ready  to  return  to  his  own  land,  he  again 
can  allow  it  to  grow,  and  can  supplement  it  with  a 
false  braid  until  it  shall  have  attained  a  suitable 
length.  Many  Americans  residing  in  China  have 
adopted  the  native  costume,  including  the  queue,  in 
order  to  render  themselves  inconspicuous ;  and  why 
should  not  the  process  be  reversed  by  Chinese  re- 
siding in  this  country?" 

These  arguments  finally  so  prevailed  that  poor  Jo, 
with  a  heavy  heart  and  tear-filled  eyes,  allowed  the 
shears  to  despoil  him  of  what  he  considered  his  chief 
and  most  becoming  adornment.  As  the  heavy  braid 
of  glossy  hair  was  severed  he  exclaimed: 

"Now  even  my  own  father  would  not  know  me, 
and  my  wife  would  no  longer  render  me  obedience!" 

"Your  wife!"  cried  Rob.  "What  do  you  mean? 
You  can't  have  a  wife!  Why,  you  aren't  any  older 
than  I  am." 

"Certainly,  I  have  a  wife,"  replied  Jo,  composedly. 
"We  were  selected  for  each  other  when  I  was  ten 
years  of  age;  and,  as  my  father  wanted  a  person  to 
look  after  his  house,  we  were  married  the  day  before 
I  left  home." 

"But  she  must  be  a  little  girl,"  objected  Rob. 

"Oh  no.  She  is  older  than  I,  and  quite  grown 
up." 

"Is  she  pretty?"  persisted  the  other,  curiously, 
"and  are  you  very  fond  of  her?" 

"No,  I  am  not  fond  of  her  at  all;  for,  you  see,  I 

3 


34  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

don't  know  her;  and  I  don't  think  she  even  is  good- 
looking.  Of  course  I  can't  tell,  though,  for  I  have 
seen  her  only  once,  and  then  her  face  was  so  hidden 
by  the  wedding-paint  that  I  have  no  idea  how  she 
would  look  without  it." 

"Well!"  exclaimed  Rob;  "you  Chinese  certainly 
are  funny!" 


CHAPTER   V 

THREATENED    VIOLENCE 

THE  next  two  months  passed  quickly,  and  were 
full  of  interesting  happenings  for  our  lads.  Although 
the  academy  was  closed,  and  many  of  its  students 
were  away  for  the  summer,  there  were  a  number 
of  Rob's  friends  left  in  Hatton,  and  these  promptly 
taking  Jo's  side  as  against  the  muckers,  became  his 
friends  as  well.  In  fact,  it  is  doubtful  if  any- 
thing could  have  advanced  him  so  speedily  in  the 
estimation  of  the  better  class  of  Hatton  boys  than 
his  ill  treatment  at  the  hands  of  their  avowed  ene- 
mies. It  alone  was  sufficient  to  induce  them  to 
make  much  of  him  from  the  outset;  but  in  a  very 
short  time  they  learned  to  like  him  for  his  own  good 
qualities. 

He  always  was  a  gentleman,  polite,  courteously 
attentive  when  spoken  to,  and  invariably  good- 
natured.  Then,  too,  his  taper  fingers  were  marvel- 
lously deft  in  making  things  out  of  paper,  wood,  or 
clay,  such  as  dragons  looking  fierce  enough  to  eat 
one,  puzzles  at  once  simple  and  baffling,  flutelike 
whistles,  and  other  instruments  for  the  production 
of  sounds  more  or  less  musical.  He  also  constructed 
innumerable  kites  of  grotesque  animal  forms,  and 

35 


36  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

he  always  was  willing  to  show  his  boyish  friends  just 
how  these  wonders  were  produced. 

They,  in  turn,  taught  him  the  things  known  al- 
most instinctively  by  every  American  boy,  and  es- 
pecially by  those  who  live  in  the  country,  but  of 
which  our  Chinese  lad  had  no  knowledge — such  as 
swimming,  boxing,  rowing,  how  to  camp  out  like 
Indians,  and,  above  all,  how  to  play  the  distinctively 
American  game  of  baseball.  To  these  fascinating 
novelties  Jo  took  as  readily  as  a  young  duck  takes 
to  water;  for,  with  his  hair  cut  short,  instead  of 
hanging  in  a  braid  down  his  back,  and  with  a  radical 
change  of  apparel,  his  whole  character  seemed  to 
have  undergone  a  transformation,  and  he  now  en- 
tered as  heartily  into  the  rough-and-tumble  sports 
of  his  new  associates  as  though  to  the  manner  born. 
To  be  sure,  he  was  ridiculously  awkward  at  first, 
and  made  such  funny  breaks  as  to  excite  the  up- 
roarious mirth  of  the  other  fellows;  but  he  didn't 
seem  to  mind  this  a  bit,  and  always  joined  heartily 
in  a  laugh  at  his  own  expense. 

The  thing  they  teased  him  most  about  was  his 
wife,  for  the  fact  of  his  being  married  had  seemed  too 
good  a  joke  for  Rob  to  keep  to  himself.  Even  this, 
however,  did  not  appear  to  annoy  the  young  hus- 
band, for  a  Chinese  marriage  is  so  entirely  different 
from  one  in  America  that  there  i»  no  trace  of  senti- 
ment connected  with  it.  The  most  important  feat- 
ure of  Chinese  life  is  the  worship  of  one's  ancestors, 
and  this  worship  may  only  properly  be  performed 
by  the  head  of  a  family.  Thus,  to  provide  for  the 


THREATENED    VIOLENCE  37 

suitable  worship  of  their  own  spirits,  in  case  of  un- 
timely death,  parents  are  anxious  to  have  their  sons 
married  as  early  in  life  as  is  possible.  Such  mar- 
riages are  purely  business  transactions,  arranged  by 
the  elders,  and  with  which  the  young  people  have 
nothing  to  do  except  to  be  on  hand  at  the  appointed 
time.  Even  this  is  not  essential  in  the  case  of  the 
bridegroom,  so  long  as  the  bride  is  delivered,  as 
per  agreement,  at  his  father's  house.  He  may  be 
on  a  journey,  or  undergoing  a  scholar's  examination, 
or  engaged  in  some  other  important  business  that 
may  not  be  interrupted  for  so  trifling  an  incident  as 
his  wedding,  which,  therefore,  is  allowed  to  proceed 
without  him.  As  he  never  is  permitted  to  see  his 
future  wife  or  to  learn  anything  concerning  her  dur- 
ing their  betrothal,  he  cannot  be  expected  to  take 
a  great  personal  interest  in  her,  or  she  in  him.  Thus 
it  happened  that  Jo  was  quite  as  willing  to  accept, 
good-naturedly,  teasing  remarks  concerning  his  mar- 
riage as  he  was  those  called  forth  by  any  other  cus- 
toms of  his  people  that  struck  his  new  companions 
as  ridiculous. 

He  had  one  possession  that  excited  their  sincere 
admiration,  not  to  say  their  envy,  and  this  was  a 
wonderful  memory.  Having  been  trained  from  ear- 
liest childhood  to  commit  to  memory  columns  and 
pages  of  Chinese  characters,  and  not  only  pages  but 
entire  volumes  of  the  Chinese  classics,  our  young 
scholar  now  took  up  the  acquisition  of  English  as  a 
mere  pastime.  The  alphabet  was  conquered  in  a 
single  day;  several  pages  of  short  words,  together 


38  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

with  their  meanings,  in  another;  and  by  the  end  of 
a  week  he  was  reading  easy  sentences.  Rob  was  his 
first  teacher,  and,  of  course,  his  knowledge  of  Chi- 
nese was  of  the  greatest  assistance  to  Jo  in  gaining 
the  meanings  of  the  English  words  that  he  so  readily 
learned  to  recognize  by  sight  and  sound. 

Thus  it  happened  that  when  the  time  arrived  for 
his  trial  in  the  county  court  he  was  able  to  give 
his  own  version  of  the  fracas  on  Hatton  common  in 
intelligible  English  without  the  aid  of  an  inter- 
preter. 

In  spite  of  the  fact  that  Mr.  Hinckley  had  em- 
ployed able  counsel  to  defend  the  boys,  the  case  was 
decided  against  them,  and  they  were  sentenced  to 
pay  heavy  fines  in  addition  to  the  costs  of  the  trial. 

"It  is  an  outrageous  and  unjust  decision,"  said 
Mr.  Hinckley  to  his  lawyer,  "and  I  will  never  sub- 
mit to  it  so  long  as  there  is  a  higher  court  to  which 
the  case  may  be  taken.  I  desire,  therefore,  that  you 
move  for  an  appeal,  and  continue  to  give  it  your 
most  earnest  attention." 

"Very  well,  sir,"  was  the  reply;  "of  course,  I  will 
do  so ;  but  I  must  warn  you  that  there  is  little  hope 
of  such  a  suit  as  yours  being  won  in  any  American 
court.  It  is  prejudiced  from  the  outset  by  the  exist- 
ing strong  feeling  against  the  Chinese.  For  them  it 
is  almost  impossible  to  obtain  justice,  even  with  the 
bulk  of  evidence  in  their  favor,  which,  in  the  present 
instance,  even  you  must  admit  is  not  the  case." 

In  spite  of  what  the  lawyer  said,  Mr.  Hinckley 
was  determined  to  carry  the  contest  to  a  higher 


THREATENED    VIOLENCE  39 

court,  and,  the  motion  for  an  appeal  being  granted, 
the  case  of  State  vs.  Joseph  Lee  et  al.  was  carried 
to  a  superior  court,  in  which  the  earliest  date  set 
for  a  hearing  was  four  months  from  that  time. 

In  the  mean  time  the  muckers  of  Hatton  and 
their  friends  were  wildly  jubilant  over  the  victory 
already  gained.  During  the  evening  of  the  day  on 
which  the  decision  of  the  county  court  had  been 
rendered,  they  gathered  about  a  great  bonfire  at 
the  lower  end  of  the  village,  where  they  listened  to 
incendiary  speeches  against  the  Chinese  and  all  who 
befriended  them.  These  were  received  with  yells 
of  applause  and  ominous  threats  of  violence. 

While  this  was  going  on  at  one  end  of  the  village, 
a  number  of  Mr.  Hinckley's  friends  were  discussing 
the  situation  in  the  parsonage  at  the  other.  All  at 
once  Rob,  who  had  been  doing  some  scouting  on 
his  own  responsibility,  broke  into  the  room  where 
these  gentlemen  were  sitting. 

"They're  coming,  Uncle  Will!"  he  cried,  breath- 
lessly, "and  they  swear  they'll  run  Jo  out  of  the 
village.  They  are  talking  about  tar  and  feathers, 
too." 

Mr.  Hinckley  sprang  to  his  feet.  "My  friends," 
he  said,  "if  you  will  stand  by  me  in  this  emergency 
I  think  the  evil  may  be  averted;  but  if  you  cannot 
see  your  way  to  so  doing,  I  must  hasten  to  remove 
the  innocent  lad  committed  to  my  charge  beyond 
the  reach  of  danger.  What  do  you  say?  Speak 
quick,  for  there  is  not  a  moment  to  lose." 

"We  will  stand  by  you,"  replied  one  and  another, 


4O  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

"and  there  are  plenty  more  who  will  do  so,  too.  Our 
village  must  not  be  disgraced  by  scenes  of  lawless 
violence." 

"Then,"  said  Mr.  Hinckley,  "hasten  and  gather 
the  neighbors.  Let  each  man  be  back  here  within 
five  minutes,  bringing  another  with  him.  I  will  try 
to  find  Constable  Jones,  and  urge  him — " 

"Here  I  be,  parson,"  interrupted  a  voice  from  the 
doorway,  "and  I've  telegraphed  the  sheriff  that 
there's  a  show  for  trouble.  He's  answered  that 
he'll  be  here  inside  of  an  hour,  and  for  us  to  try 
and  keep  'em  entertained  till  he  comes." 

"Good!"  exclaimed  Mr.  Hinckley.  "I  rather 
think  we  can." 

Five  minutes  later,  when  a  noisy  throng  of  men 
and  boys  came  surging  up  the  street,  the  lower  part 
of  the  parsonage,  opposite  which  they  halted,  was 
so  brilliantly  lighted  that  they  could  see  a  numer- 
ous company  of  gentlemen  assembled  inside.  They 
barely  had  time  to  realize  that  the  house  thus  was 
occupied,  when,  suddenly,  every  light  was  extin- 
guished and  it  stood  in  silent  darkness.  For  a 
moment  the  new-comers,  just  now  so  valiantly  loud- 
mouthed, waited  in  silence  to  see  what  would  hap- 
pen next.  Then  they  began  to  murmur,  and  the 
murmurs  grew  into  shouts  of : 

"Fetch  out  your  Chinee!" 

"We'll  teach  him  English!" 

"Down  with  the  rat-eaters!"  and  a  confusion  of 
other  cries,  at  once  derisive  and  threatening. 

As  the  mob,  inflamed  by  these  utterances,  and 


THREATENED    VIOLENCE  41 

urged  on  by  its  self-constituted  leaders,  crowded 
about  the  entrance  to  the  front  yard,  it  was  met 
by  Constable  Jones,  who  leaned  negligently  against 
one  of  the  gate-posts. 

"Hello!"  he  exclaimed.  "What  do  you  fellows 
want  here?" 

"We  want  to  see  Parson  Hinckley,"  answered  a 
spokesman. 

"Well,  you'll  have  to  call  again  to-morrow,  or 
some  other  day,  for  he's  busy  just  now  and  can't 
see  you." 

"Oh,  he  carn't,  carn't  he?  I  rather  guess  he'll 
see  us  before  we  git  ready  to  leave.  Come  on,  fel- 
lers!" 

"Stand  back!"  shouted  the  constable  as  the  crowd 
surged  towards  the  gate.  "I  have  instructions  from 
the  owner  of  these  premises  not  to  admit  any  one 
to  them  this  night.  As  this  is  private  property,  and 
I'm  bound  to  protect  the  owner  in  his  rights,  the 
first  man  attempting  to  enter  will  be  arrested  for 
trespass." 

This  announcement  was  greeted  with  howls  of 
derision,  and  it  seemed  as  though  Constable  Jones 
was  about  to  have  on  his  hands  the  job  of  arresting 
the  entire  mob,  when  another  halt  was  called  by  the 
voice  of  Mr.  Hinckley,  who  came  from  the  house  to 
the  front  gate  as  though  to  investigate  the  trouble. 

"What  is  going  on  here,  Constable  Jones?  Who 
are  these  people,  and  what  do  they  want?"  he  asked, 
loud  enough  for  all  to  hear. 

"Want  to  see  you,  parson;    so  they  say." 


42  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

"Well,  my  friends,  what  is  it?  I  am  too  busy  for 
an  extended  conversation ;  but  if  you  can  tell  me  in 
a  few  words  what  you  desire,  I  am  ready  to  listen." 

"Yes,  we  can,"  answered  one  of  the  leaders, 
gruffly.  "We  want  the  murdering,  heathen  Chinee 
that  you're  a-keeping  in  your  house  agin  the  law. 
We're  agoin'  to  have  him,  too,  an'  run  him  out  er 
town." 

"Against  the  law!"  repeated  Mr.  Hinckley. 
"What  do  you  mean?  I  am  not  harboring  any 
person  against  the  law,  that  I  know  of." 

"Yes,  you  be,  fer  the  law  says  all  Chinesesers  must 
be  excluded,  and  we're  going  to  enforce  it,  by  ex- 
cluding the  one  you've  brought  to  Hatton  in  spite 
of  the  law." 

For  ten  minutes  Mr.  Hinckley  held  the  crowd  at 
bay  by  his  arguments,  and  his  exhortations  not  to 
disgrace  themselves,  their  State,  and  their  country, 
by  committing  an  act  of  lawless  violence;  but 
finally  they  would  listen  to  him  no  longer,  and  again 
a  rush  was  made  for  the  gate. 

This  time  it  was  checked  by  a  new  voice,  the  stern 
tones  of  which  were  well  known  to  all  of  them, 
for  it  belonged  to  the  owner  of  the  great  shops  in 
which  so  many  of  them  earned  their  daily  bread. 
"Hold  on,  men!"  he  cried,  "and  listen  to  me.  I 
don't  think  I  need  tell  you  who  I  am,  or  that  I  will 
do  as  I  say,  for  you  all  know  me,  and  you  know  that 
I  never  yet  broke  a  promise.  For  many  years  you 
and  I  have  lived  in  this  village  of  Hatton.  In  all 
that  time  we  have  carried  on  business  together  in 


THREATENED    VIOLENCE  43 

orderly  fashion,  to  my  satisfaction,  and,  I  hope,  to 
yours.  We  have  had  differences,  but  always  have 
managed  to  settle  them  without  calling  in  outside 
aid.  Now,  however,  you  are  threatening  me,  as  well 
as  this  entire  community,  with  something  to  which 
I  cannot  and  will  not  submit.  You  are  threatening 
this  village  with  mob  rule,  a  condition  under  which 
no  community  can  exist  and  no  business  can  be 
conducted.  Therefore  I  give  you  my  solemn  word 
that  if  a  single  act  of  lawless  violence  against  life  or 
property  is  committed  this  night  by  a  man  or  wom- 
an, boy  or  girl  employed  in  the  Hatton  shops,  those 
same  shops  shall  be  closed  to-morrow,  never  to  be 
reopened." 

"That's  all  bluff!"  cried  a  voice  from  the  crowd, 
as  the  speaker  uttered  this  threat. 

"What  do  we  care  fer  him  or  fer  his  talk?"  de- 
manded one  who  had  constituted  himself  a  leader. 
"There's  a-plenty  of  us  here  as  don't  work  in  his 
shops  to  see  this  business  through;  so  come  on, 
lads,  and  don't  fool  away  any  more  time  talking. 
Hurray  for  American  rights,  and  down  with  all  Chi- 
nese scabs!" 

At  this  the  mob  uttered  a  howl  and  leaped  forward, 
not  only  putting  to  flight  the  little  group  holding 
the  parsonage  gate,  but  tearing  down  the  fence  and 
swarming  up  to  the  very  door  of  the  house. 


CHAPTER    VI 
THE    SHERIFF    TAKES    PROMPT    MEASURES 

SHERIFF  HARDY,  of  Hat  County,  was  a  fearlessly 
resolute  man,  possessed  of  great  bodily  strength  and 
of  a  coolness  in  times  of  excitement  that  admirably 
fitted  him  for  his  difficult  position,  and  he  had  con- 
stant need  to  exercise  all  these  qualities,  for  his  was 
a  manufacturing  county,  having  a  large  population 
of  recently  Americanized  foreigners,  who  held  in 
scant  respect  laws  not  enforced  by  a  military  power 
always  in  evidence. 

On  the  evening  of  the  trouble  in  Hatton,  Constable 
Jones's  message  found  the  sheriff  quietly  smoking  a 
cigar  on  the  porch  of  his  house  at  the  county  seat, 
some  miles  from  the  place  where  his  presence  was  so 
urgently  required.  Two  minutes  later  he  was  on 
horseback  and  galloping  towards  the  scene  of  dis- 
turbance. Reaching  the  Hatton  parsonage  within 
half  an  hour,  he  entered  it  by  a  back  door,  and  at 
once  swore  in  as  special  deputies  the  gentlemen 
whom  he  found  there  assembled,  and  undecided, 
not  having  authority,  as  to  how  they  should  act 
in  the  present  emergency.  Then  Sheriff  Hardy 
stepped  to  the  front  porch,  took  a  survey  of  the  sit- 
uation, and  for  a  minute  listened  to  the  significant 

44 


THE  SHERIFF  TAKES  PROMPT  MEASURES    45 

interchange  of  remarks  between  the  owner  of  the 
shops  and  the  leaders  of  the  mob. 

He  was  there  when  the  crowd  tore  down  the  fence 
and  made  their  rush  towards  the  house.  Until  this 
moment  they  had  not  suspected  his  presence,  but 
now,  at  the  sound  of  his  sharp  "Halt!"  their  advance 
was  checked  as  effectually  as  though  it  had  en- 
countered a  twenty-foot  stone  wall. 

"Stand  where  you  are!"  he  commanded.  "Any 
man  who  advances  so  much  as  a  single  step  farther 
will  be  arrested.  I  am  not  going  to  ask  what  you 
are  doing  here,  nor  the  meaning  of  this  cowardly 
demonstration  against  the  peace.  I  already  have 
heard  enough  to  fully  understand  the  situation.  You 
are  proposing  to  injure  and  otherwise  abuse  a  per- 
son who  is  legally  an  inmate  of  this  house." 

"He's  a  heathen  Chinee,"  muttered  some  one  in 
the  crowd. 

"I  don't  care  if  he's  a  blue  monkey,"  replied  the 
sheriff,  sharply,  "so  long  as  he  is  here  with  the  sanc- 
tion of  the  law,  he  is  entitled  to  legal  protection,  and 
he  is  going  to  have  it,  too,  just  so  long  as  I  am 
sheriff  of  Hat  County.  Some  of  you  Dagoes  seem 
to  think  there  isn't  any  law  in  this  country,  but  I'll 
teach  you  that  there  is  plenty  of  law,  with  ample 
provision  for  enforcing  it.  Now  I've  wasted  all  the 
time  I  mean  to  on  you,  and  school  is  dismissed;  so, 
'bout  face,  and  clear  out  of  here.  You  want  to  be 
spry,  too,  for  in  just  one  minute  I  am  going  to  march 
down  that  street  with  a  posse  of  armed  deputies, 
sworn  to  obey  orders,  and  ordered  to  arrest  any 


46  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

anarchist  who  attempts  to  obstruct  their  passage. 
I  may  add  that  they  can  shoot,  too;  and,  if  neces- 
sary, will  shoot.  That's  all." 

As  the  mob,  breaking  into  angry  murmurs,  still 
hesitated  to  move,  Sheriff  Hardy  called  out,  so  that 
all  might  hear: 

"Posse,  attention!     Fall  in!     Come  on!" 

Then,  as  the  tramp  of  many  feet  sounded  on  the 
porch,  he  leaped  from  it,  and  his  impatient  followers 
sprang  after  him.  The  next  minute  they  were  charg- 
ing down  the  main  street  behind  a  panic  -  stricken 
mob  in  full  flight,  and  Hatton's  short-lived  reign  of 
terror  was  ended. 

After  this,  Mr.  Hinckley,  acting  upon  the  sheriff's 
advice,  which  coincided  with  his  own  inclination, 
did  not  seek  to  secure  Jo's  safety  by  sending  him 
away  from  Hatton,  but  kept  him  there  in  attend- 
ance at  the  academy,  where  the  other  fellows,  un- 
der Rob's  leadership,  acted  as  a  body-guard  for  his 
protection. 

"It  is  too  bad  that  I  make  so  much  bobble,"  said 
the  Chinese  lad  to  his  friend  one  day.  "  Mebbe 
better  if  I  go  my  own  country." 

"Oh,  rot!"  replied  Rob,  who  at  times  found  diffi- 
culty in  expressing  his  feelings  other  than  by  the 
use  of  slang.  "It  would  just  be  pie  for  the  muck- 
ers to  have  you  cut  away,  and  they  would  claim 
game  on  the  strength  of  it.  As  for  you  making 
trouble,  I  call  it  fun,  and  so  do  the  other  fellows. 
Why,  I've  never  known  so  much  life  in  the  academy 
as  has  been  put  into  it  by  your  coming.  Same  time, 


THE    SHERIFF    TAKES    PROMPT    MEASURES          47 

you  can't  say  you  aren't  getting  good  by  being  here, 
for  I  never  heard  of  anybody  learning  as  fast  as  you 
do.  I'm  not  the  only  one  that's  on  to  it,  either;  for 
I  heard  old  Puff — excuse  me,  I  mean  Professor  Puf- 
fer— say  the  same  thing  only  yesterday.  Besides, 
you  couldn't  go  away  till  after  our  trial,  anyhow, 
for  we  are  under  bonds  to  appear,  and  it  would 
simply  mean  ruin  to  Uncle  Will  if  you  didn't  show 
up." 

"That  tlial,"  answered  Jo,  who  had  not  yet  fully 
conquered  the  difficulty  encountered  by  all  Chinese 
who  come  into  contact  with  the  letter  r,  "  makes 
for  me  much  bitterness  and  plenty  'fraid.  In  my 
country  we  say,  '  Better  it  is  to  die  than  go  in  law- 
suit.' ' 

"Oh,  pshaw!"  answered  Rob.  "It  isn't  that  way 
in  America.  Everybody  here  seems  to  get  mixed 
up  in  some  sort  of  a  law-suit  sooner  or  later,  and  not 
worry  much  about  it,  either.  As  for  ours,  it  '11  come, 
out  all  right;  you  see  if  it  don't.  I'm  not  fretting." 

When,  in  the  early  winter,  the  eventful  day  set  for 
the  trial  of  the  now  famous  case  of  State  vs.  Joseph 
Lee  et  al.  arrived,  it  seemed  as  though  half  Hatton 
was  determined  to  be  on  hand.  Court  was  held  in 

the  city  of  S ,  distant  only  an  hour's  ride  by 

train,  so  that  the  Hatton  spectators  were  able  to  go 
and  return  the  same  day. 

Owing  to  the  dragging  length  of  the  preceding 
case  on  the  calendar,  that  of  our  lads  was  not  called 
on  the  first  day  of  their  appearance,  and  they  were 
forced  to  spend  the  night  in  a  hotel,  guarded  by 


48  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

a  deputy.  In  this  same  hotel  stayed  the  father 
of  the  young  tough  who  had  incidentally  been 
thrown  to  the  ground  with  Jo  during  the  long-ago 
fracas  that  began  all  this  trouble.  When  our  lads, 
accompanied  by  their  guard,  went  down  to  supper, 
this  man,  together  with  another,  sat  where  he  could 
see  them,  and,  pointing  to  Jo,  he  said,  viciously,  but 
in  a  low  tone: 

"That's  him,  and  we'll  make  it  worth  your  while 
to  fix  him." 

"That  well-dressed  young  fellow?"  questioned  the 
other,  in  a  tone  of  surprise.  "He  don't  look  any 
more  like  a  Chinee  than  he  does  like  a  Dago,  and 
if  you  hadn't  told  me,  I  wouldn't  have  suspect- 
ed it." 

"No,  they've  trimmed  him  up  to  look  almost 
civilized ;  but  I  wisht  you'd  seen  him  when  the  fuss 
took  place.  He  sure  was  a  savage-appearing  heathen 
then." 

"Um,"  said  the  other,  meditatively;  "changed 
his  description,  have  they?  Well,  if  you  can  make 
it  worth  while,  I'll  see  what  can  be  done." 

To  the  dismay  of  our  lads  and  their  friends,  the 
trial,  which  occupied  the  whole  of  the  following  day, 
was,  in  spite  of  the  efforts  of  their  lawyer,  but  a 
repetition  of  the  first  one.  Much  additional  testi- 
mony was  presented  by  the  State,  but  nothing  new 
had  been  forth-coming  in  their  behalf.  So  late  in  the 
day  was  the  case  closed  that  the  judge  withheld  his 
decision  until  the  next  morning;  but  no  one  had  a 
doubt  as  to  its  nature,  and  the  muckers  of  Hatton 


THE    SHERIFF    TAKES    PROMPT    MEASURES  49 

held  another  jubilation  that  night  with  bonfires  and 
much  noise. 

Full  accounts  of  the  trial  appeared  in  the  morning 
papers,  and  our  friends  read  these  with  heavy  hearts. 

"  Looks  as  though  we  stood  a  good  chance  of  going 
to  prison,"  remarked  Rob,  gloomily.  "It  '11  either 
be  that  or  a  whopping  big  fine  that,  I'm  afraid, 
Uncle  Will  can't  raise.  Maybe  it  '11  be  both." 

"If  my  father  were  only  here,"  said  Jo,  "he  would 
make  things  all  right  quick  enough,  by  giving  that 
mandarin  judge  much  money." 

"Oh,  would  he?"  replied  Rob.  "That's  all  you 
know  about  American  judges.  Such  a  scheme  might 
work  in  China,  but  if  your  father  should  try  it  on 
here  he  would  be  pretty  apt  to  land  himself  in 
prison,  alongside  of  his  son,  and  that  son's  '  accom- 
plice,' as  the  papers  now  call  me.  We  Americans 
are  a  pretty  tough  lot,  I'll  admit,  and  our  laws  don't 
seem  to  have  much  to  do  with  justice,  but  I  don't 
believe  we've  yet  come  to  the  point  of  bribing  our 
judges — that  is,  not  to  any  great  extent." 

"But,  Rob,  my  friend,  it  is  for  you  that  my  heart 
is  aching.  For  me  it  makes  no  difference.  When 
I  am  again  free  I  will  go  back  to  my  own  country 
as  a  hero,  whose  bad  treatment  here  will  only  make 
my  people  hate  foreigners  more  than  ever.  But  for 
you  it  will  mean  shame  and  much  sorrow,  all  caused 
by  me." 

"Now,  don't  you  fret  a  little  bit  about  that,  old 
man,"  replied  Rob,  stoutly.  "There  is  no  danger 
of  me  being  disgraced  by  going  to  prison  in  a  good 


50  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

cause,  in  the  eyes  of  any  one  whose  opinion  is  worth 
anything.  I  tell  you,  honestly,  that,  so  long  as  you 
are  in  this  scrape,  I'm  glad  to  be  in  it  with  you;  for 
it  will  show  that  if  Americans  are  sometimes  unjust, 
it  is  not  only  to  foreigners,  but  to  their  own  people 
as  well." 

So  greatly  was  interest  in  the  case  stimulated  by 
the  published  reports  that,  on  the  second  day  of 
the  trial,  the  court-room  was  crowded  with  spec- 
tators. Most  of  these  were  hostile  in  sentiment  to 
our  lads  and  were  anxious  to  hear  sentence  pro- 
nounced, not  only  upon  the  Chinese,  who  had  dared 
assault  an  American,  but  upon  the  white  lad  who 
had  proved  a  traitor  to  his  own  people  by  assisting 
in  the  outrage.  Another  attraction  in  the  court- 
room that  morning  was  a  Chinese  gentleman,  rich- 
ly clad  in  his  national  costume,  who  entered  with 
the  judge,  and  was  accorded  the  honor  of  a  seat 
on  the  bench.  He  was  secretary  to  the  Chinese 
legation  at  Washington,  hurriedly  sent  on  by  his 
chief  to  inquire  into  this  case  and  do  everything 
possible  for  the  relief  of  his  young  countryman. 
Even  after  entering  the  court-room  he  continued  to 
speak  to  the  judge;  but  the  face  of  the  latter  re- 
mained sternly  impassive,  as  though,  having  made 
up  his  mind,  nothing  could  change  it. 

When  our  lads  were  led  to  their  seats  they  could 
nowhere  see  the  lawyer  who  was  defending  them, 
and  they  wondered  at  his  absence ;  but  he  appeared 
and  took  his  place  with  other  members  of  the  bar 
just  as  court  was  opening.  He  had  no  opportunity 


THE  SHERIFF  TAKES  PROMPT  MEASURES     51 

for  communicating  with  them  at  that  moment,  but 
he  beamed  upon  them  with  a  smiling  countenance, 
for  which  they  could  not  account. 

"Looks  like  a  man  grinning  at  his  own  funeral," 
whispered  Rob  to  his  friend,  who  wondered  how 
such  a  thing  might  be  possible. 

In  another  moment,  however,  his  attention  was 
drawn  from  this  puzzle  by  the  opening  of  court, 
and  by  seeing  their  counsel  rise  to  his  feet. 

"Your  honor,"  said  this  gentleman,  addressing 
the  judge,  "I  beg  leave  to  petition  that  the  case  of 
State  vs.  Joseph  Lee  et  al.,  concluded  in  this  court 
yesterday,  be  reopened  for  the  admission  of  new 
and  important  testimony  in  behalf  of  the  defence. 
Only  this  morning  has  a  witness  been  discovered 
whose  story  will,  I  believe,  completely  reverse  all 
previous  impressions  gained  during  this  momentous 
trial.  In  view  of  that  fact  we  earnestly  pray  that 
you  will  permit  us  to  place  this  person  on  the  stand." 

After  listening  to  a  demur  from  the  district  at- 
torney, the  court  granted  this  petition  and  reopened 
the  case,  whereupon  the  counsel  for  the  defence 
summoned  to  the  witness  -  stand  Miss  Annabel 
Lorimer. 


CHAPTER   VII 
THE    SENTENCE    OP    THE    COURT 

As  the  court-crier,  amid  a  breathless  hush  of  ex- 
pectation, loudly  called  the  name  "Annabel  Lor- 
imer,"  a  young  girl,  flushed  with  embarrassment, 
but  with  brave,  gray  eyes,  rose  from  a  seat  in  the 
front  row  of  spectators  and  was  escorted  to  the 
witness-stand  by  a  gentleman,  who  evidently  was 
her  father,  and  who  remained  near  her  during  the 
examination  that  followed.  After  she  had  sworn 
to  tell  the  truth,  the  whole  truth,  and  nothing  but 
the  truth,  had  given  her  name,  her  place  of  resi- 
dence as  that  very  city,  and  had  blushingly  ad- 
mitted that,  although  fifteen  years  of  age,  she  was 
unmarried,  she  was  asked  to  tell  what  she  knew  of 
the  case  now  on  trial. 

"We  were  going  to  Canada  for  the  summer,"  she 
began,  "so  as  to  learn  how  to  travel  and  get  ready 
for  the  great  journey  around  the  world  that  papa 
and  I  are  going  to  take  this  winter.  So  I  went  to 
Hatton  to  say  good-bye  to  my  aunt  Marjorie,  who 
lives  in  a  big,  white  house,  just  across  from  the 
common.  I  could  only  stay  one  night,  and  had  to 
leave  on  the  very  earliest  morning  train.  So  I  was 
up  pretty  early,  and  was  dressing  to  go  down-stairs, 

52 


THE  SENTENCE  OF  THE  COURT         53 

when  such  shouting  and  laughing  came  from  the 
street  that  I  looked  out  of  the  window.  There  were 
a  lot  of  boys,  all  running,  and  one  of  them  was  a 
Chinese.  I  never  saw  one  before,  but  I  knew  he  was 
Chinese  by  his  pig-tail  and  by  his  funny  shoes,  that 
were  just  like  the  pictures." 

"Can  you  tell  how  he  was  dressed?"  asked  Jo's 
lawyer. 

"Yes,  he  had  on  a  long,  blue  frock,  without  any 
waist -band." 

"Like  this?"  suggested  the  lawyer,  at  the  same 
time  holding  up  the  very  gown  Jo  had  worn  on  that 
eventful  morning. 

"Yes,  just  the  same;  only  at  first  it  wasn't  torn." 

"Thank  you.  Now  you  may  proceed  with  your 
story." 

"Well,  while  I  was  looking  I  saw  that  the  other 
boys  were  teasing  the  Chinese  boy,  which  seemed  to 
me  dreadfully  mean,  when  he  was  all  alone  in  a 
strange  place,  especially  when  he  stood  still  and 
began  to  look  frightened.  Then  some  more  big 
boys,  who  had  been  playing  on  the  common,  came 
running  over,  and  they  all  crowded  around  the 
Chinese  boy  and  began  to  abuse  him." 

"What  do  you  mean  by  abusing  him?  What  did 
they  do?" 

"Why,  they  hit  him,  and  pushed  him  from  one 
side  to  the  other,  and  pulled  at  his  pig-tail,  and  ran 
round  and  round  with  it  so  as  to  make  him  turn  and 
get  dizzy,  and  knocked  off  his  cap,  and  did  every- 
thing horrid  they  could  think  of." 


54  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

"What  kind  of  boys  were  they?" 

"Just  the  very  kind  that  tie  fire-crackers  to  poor 
dogs'  tails,  and  kill  pussy-cats  with  stones,  and — 
swear." 

This  last  word  the  witness  uttered  with  some  hesi- 
tation and  in  a  low  tone. 

"Would  you  know  any  of  those  boys  again  if  you 
should  see  them?" 

"Yes,  I'd  know  the  two  I  see  sitting  over  there," 
replied  Annabel,  at  the  same  time  pointing  to  a 
group  of  the  Hatton  muckers  who  had  been  retained 
in  court  as  witnesses. 

"How  can  you  identify  them?" 

"Because  the  little  one  has  such  very  red  hair, 
and  so  many  freckles,  and  the  other  is  so  big  and 
ugly  looking;  besides,  he  is  the  one  who  knocked 
the  Chinese  boy  down." 

"How  did  he  do  that?" 

"He  butted  him  in  the  back  with  his  head,  while 
the  little,  speckled  one  was  pulling  at  his  pig-tail  in 
front,  and  they  all  went  down  together." 

"Now  tell  me,  Miss  Lorimer,  what  the  Chinese 
boy  did  all  this  time?  Was  he  very  fierce,  and  did 
he  strike  at  his  assailants  as  if  he  were  trying  to  kill 
them?" 

"Oh  no,  indeed!  I'm  sure  he  didn't,  because  I 
hoped  all  the  time  he  would.  He  only  seemed  hor- 
ribly frightened,  and  kept  trying  to  get  away;  only 
they  wouldn't  let  him." 

"Did  you  see  any  of  the  other  boys  throw  any- 
thing at  him?" 


THE  SENTENCE  OF  THE  COURT         55 

"Yes,  mud — lots  of  it — and  stones;  and  they  tore 
his  clothes  until  he  was  a  sight." 

"Please  tell  the  court  what  happened  after  the 
Chinese  boy  had  been  knocked  down." 

"I  object  to  that  expression,"  interposed  the  dis- 
trict attorney,  who  was  conducting  the  case  for  the 
State;  "the  witness  has  expressly  stated  that  the  fall 
in  question  was  caused  by  a  push  and  not  by  a  blow. 
She  also  has  testified  that  three  individuals  went  to 
the  ground  at  the  same  time,  and  we  already  know 
from  recorded  testimony  in  this  case,  that  the  great- 
est sufferer  from  the  effects  of  this  fall  was  not  the 
Chinaman,  but  the  very  smallest  and  weakest  of 
those  whom  my  learned  friend  is  pleased  to  stigma- 
tize as  'assailants,'  although  it  has  been  repeat- 
edly and  conclusively  proved  during  this  trial  that 
they  were  the  assailed.  Therefore  I  object  to  the 
expression  'knocked  down.' ' 

"Objection  admitted,"  growled  the  judge. 

"Very  well,"  said  Jo's  lawyer,  "since  the  expres- 
sion 'knocked  down'  is  objectionable,  it  is  with- 
drawn; and  you  may  tell  us,  Miss  Lorimer,  what 
happened  after  my  young  client  was  hurled  to  the 
ground." 

"Your  honor,  I  object,"  broke  in  the  district  at- 
torney. 

"Objection  overruled,"  said  the  judge,  sharply, 
"and  I  insist  that  the  testimony  of  this  young  lady 
must  not  be  interrupted  by  squabbles  over  tech- 
nicalities." 

"After  my  young  client  was  hurled  to  the  ground,'" 


56  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

continued  Jo's  lawyer,  triumphantly,  "with  the  big- 
gest and  ugliest-looking  of  his  assailants  on  top  of 
him,  tell  us,  Miss  Lorimer,  what  happened  next?" 

"The  big  boy  scrambled  to  his  feet,  and  just  then 
Rob  Hinckley  came  along  with  a  milk-can  and  drove 
them  all  away,  and  the  milk  flew  all  over  everybody. 
Then  Mr.  Hinckley  and  Constable  Jones  came;  but 
after  that  I  didn't  see  any  more,  because  the  break- 
fast-bell rang,  and  I  was  so  late  that  I  had  to  get 
dressed  as  quick  as  I  could." 

"That  is  all,  your  honor,  and  the  other  side  is 
welcome  to  our  witness,"  said  Jo's  lawyer. 

"Why  did  you  not  come  forward  sooner  to  testify 
in  this  case,  Miss  Lorimer,  since  you  seem  so  greatly 
interested  in  it?"  queried  the  district  attorney. 

"Because  I  didn't  know  anything  about  it  until 
this  morning.  Then  papa  read  about  it  in  the  paper, 
and  said  he  had  no  doubt  that  if  the  truth  were 
known  it  would  turn  out  that  the  Chinese  boy  had 
been  wantonly  abused  by  a  lot  of  cowardly  young 
ruffians,  just  because  he  was  weak  and  helpless, 
which  was  getting  more  and  more  to  be  the  Ameri- 
can way  of  doing  things.  I  didn't  like  to  hear  him 
say  that,  and  told  him  I  believed  I  had  seen  that 
very  trouble  the  morning  I  was  in  Hatton;  only  I 
had  forgotten  all  about  it,  because  so  many  other 
things  began  to  happen  that  same  day,  and  have 
been  happening  ever  since.  I  said,  if  those  were  the 
same  boys,  they  were  not  real,  true  Americans  at  all, 
but  just  a  lot  of  mean  imitations,  and  if  the  law 
people  only  knew  what  I  did,  they  would  punish 


THE  SENTENCE  OF  THE  COURT         57 

them  instead  of  Rob  Hinckley,  and  the  Chinese  boy 
who  had  been  abused.  He  asked  what  I  meant, 
and  I  told  him  all  I  could  remember.  Then  he  tele- 
phoned to  that  gentleman  (pointing  to  Jo's  lawyer), 
who  came  to  the  house  and  asked  me  questions. 
Then  we  drove  here  in  a  carriage,  because  it  was  late. 
So  if  you  punish  anybody,  I  hope  it  will  be  those 
wicked  imitation  American  boys ;  because  one  time 
that  big,  ugly  looking  one  set  his  dog  on  my  tortoise- 
shell  kitty  when  we  were  visiting  Aunt  Marjorie, 
and  threw  stones  at  her  when  she  ran  up  a  tree,  and 
would  have  killed  her  if  Rob  Hinckley  hadn't  made 
him  stop." 

"So  you  already  were  prejudiced  against  the  boy, 
whom  you  describe  as  '  ugly  looking,'  before  you  saw 
him  in  collision  with  this  Chinaman." 

"  I  don't  know  what  you  mean,"  replied  Annabel; 
"but,  of  course,  I  hated  him,  and  knew  just  what 
he  would  do  when  he  found  a  China-boy,  or  any  one 
else  he  could  abuse  without  a  chance  of  getting  hurt 
himself.  He  did  it,  too,  and  now  I  hope  he'll  be 
shut  up  in  prison  forever  and  ever." 

"Your  honor,"  said  the  district  attorney,  with  a 
well-satisfied  smile;  "I  think  the  animus  of  this  wit- 
ness is  sufficiently  shown  by  that  statement,  which 
I  shall  allow  to  go  on  record  without  comment.  I 
shall  also  pass,  without  attempt  at  refutation,  her 
silly  naming  of  those  naturalized  citizens,  who,  with 
their  brawn  and  muscle,  their  unremitting  indus- 
try and  their  sturdy  independence,  constitute  the 
strongest  bulwark  of  our  glorious  republic,  for  she  is 


58  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

but  a  child,  speaking  from  the  ignorance  of  child- 
hood. Thus  we  are  well  content  to  rest  our  case 
upon  the  evidence,  with  a  certain  confidence  that 
the  court,  in  its  wisdom,  will  give  us  a  verdict  in 
accordance  with  the  facts." 

With  this  the  attorney  sat  down.  The  girl  wit- 
ness, wondering  whether  she  had  most  helped  or 
harmed  the  cause  she  had  espoused,  was  allowed  to 
take  her  seat,  and  Jo's  lawyer  rose  to  address  the 
court. 

"Your  honor,"  he  said,  "I  need  not  suggest  to 
one  so  well  versed  in  proverbial  philosophy,  that 
truth,  sometimes  unpalatable,  but  always  bluntly 
outspoken,  is  a  universally  admitted  characteristic 
of  childhood.  Into  the  dark  mazes  of  numberless 
famous  law  cases,  as  in  the  one  we  now  are  conclud- 
ing, has  the  revealing  light  of  truth  been  thrown  by 
the  untutored  testimony  of  children.  I  could  not 
wish  a  stronger  witness  to  the  justice  of  our  cause 
than  the  fearless  little  lady  who  has  just  now  given 
her  evidence  in  our  behalf.  Upon  it,  therefore,  we 
confidently  rest  our  cause,  with  a  well-grounded  con- 
viction that  it  is  sufficient  to  assure  a  verdict  in  our 
favor." 

As  the  lawyer  sat  down,  our  lads  realized  that  the 
critical  moment  in  which  their  fate  was  to  be  decided 
had  arrived;  and  they  awaited  the  words  of  the 
judge  with  mingled  hope  and  anxiety.  For  a  mo- 
ment an  impressive  silence  reigned  in  the  court -room, 
and  all  eyes  were  turned  upon  the  judge  as  he  glanced 
over  his  pencilled  notes.  Finally  he  looked  up,  re- 


THE  SENTENCE  OF  THE  COURT         59 

moved  his  spectacles,  and,  fixing  a  kindly  gaze  upon 
the  two  young  men,  said: 

"It  is  hardly  necessary  to  state  that  the  unim- 
peachable testimony  of  the  last  witness  in  the  case 
of  State  vs.  Joseph  Lee  et  al.  has  completely  altered 
the  point  of  view  from  which  it  must  be  regarded, 
and  causes  the  decision  of  the  court  to  be  quite  dif- 
ferent from  what  it  would  have  been  yesterday.  I 
now  find  the  defendant,  Joseph  Lee,  to  have  been 
a  victim  instead  of  an  aggressor,  and  to  have  suf- 
fered shameful  persecution  at  the  hands  of  a  mob 
of  young  ruffians,  who  have  been  happily  termed 
'imitation  Americans.'  This  term  is  most  soothing 
to  the  pride  of  all  real  Americans,  who  are  unwilling 
to  believe  that  any  of  the  true  stock  would  dishonor 
the  name  by  assaulting  the  helpless  and  innocent. 
This  being  the  situation,  the  decision  of  the  court 
in  the  case  of  Joseph  Lee  is  that  he  be  honorably 
acquitted  of  the  charges  brought  against  him." 

This  decision  was  received  with  looks  of  scowling 
consternation  by  the  muckers  present,  and  with 
murmurs  of  applause  from  the  better  class  of  spec- 
tators. This  quickly  was  silenced  by  the  court 
officers,  and  the  judge  continued: 

"The  case  of  Robert  Hinckley,  however,  proves 
more  serious,  since  it  is  evident  that  he  did  make 
an  assault  with  a  weapon,  and  without  the  excuse 
of  self-defence,  upon  the  bodies  of  certain  persons 
named  in  the  indictment,  who  are  entitled  to  legal 
redress  for  the  same.  Of  this  offence  the  court, 
therefore,  finds  Robert  Hinckley  guilty  and  sen- 


60  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

tences  him  " — at  this  point  poor  Rob  turned  very 
pale,  while  his  heart  sank  like  lead  —  "to  pay  a 
fine,"  continued  the  judge,  "of  one  cent  to  each 
and  every  one  of  the  aggrieved  parties  whose  names 
appear  in  the  indictment.  At  the  same  time  the 
court  wishes  to  express  its  thanks  to  Mr.  Robert 
Hinckley  for  the  fine  manner  in  which,  forgetful  of 
his  own  danger,  he  hastened  to  defend  a  helpless 
foreigner  from  persecution  by  a  set  of  unmitigated 
young  scoundrels.  Officer,  call  the  next  case  on  the 
calendar." 

"Oh!"  gasped  Rob,  as  the  friends  of  our  lads 
gathered  about  them  with  congratulations  at  this 
happy  ending  of  their  troubles;  "does  he  really 
mean  it?" 

"Yes,"  replied  the  lawyer  who  had  defended  them, 
"  he  really  means  it,  and  if  you  haven't  two  cents 
in  your  pocket,  I'll  pay  the  fine  myself." 


CHAPTER  VIII 
JO'S    ENEMIES    PREPARE    A    TRAP 

AFTER  the  happy  conclusion  of  the  law-suit  that 
had  for  so  long  disturbed  their  peace  of  mind,  our 
lads  left  the  court-room  in  company  with  a  group  of 
congratulatory  friends.  As  they  went  out,  Rob  ex- 
claimed, triumphantly,  "I  told  you  not  to  fret,  Jo, 
and  that  everything  would  turn  out  all  right." 

"Yes,  but  it  is  through  the  goodness  of  Miss 
Lolimer." 

"Who?"  inquired  Rob,  with  a  puzzled  expression. 
"Oh,  you  mean  Annabel!  Yes,  isn't  she  fine?  I 
say,  Annabel,  I  don't  know  how  we  ever  can  thank 
you  enough  for  getting  us  out  of  that  scrape.  It  was 
one  of  the  most  plucky  things  I  ever  knew  a  girl 
to  do." 

"It  wasn't  half  so  plucky  as  the  way  you  saved 
my  'turtle  kitty'  that  time;  besides,  I  was  so  sorry 
for  your  friend,  though  I  didn't  know  he  was  your 
friend  then." 

"That's  so.  I  forgot.  Let  me  introduce  him. 
Annabel — I  mean  Miss  Lorimer — this  is  my  friend, 
Joseph  Lee,  from  China,  only  all  the  fellows  call  him 
Chinese  Jo." 

"I'm  ever  so  glad  to  know  you,  Mr.  Lee,"  said 
61 


62  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

the  girl,  at  the  same  time  making  a  prim  little  bow 
that  was  half  curtsey.  "I  never  met  a  Chinese  boy 
before,  and  I  think  they  are  awfully  interesting.  I 
mean,"  she  added,  quickly,  and  with  a  deep  blush, 
"that  we  are  going  to  China  sometime,  papa  and  I, 
and  we  want  so  much  to  know  about  the  queer 
people  out  there.  Not,  of  course,  that  you  seem 
queer,  because  you  are  dressed  in  civilized —  Oh, 
dear,  what  a  stupid  I  am!  But  won't  both  of  you 
come  to  our  house  for  luncheon  ?  Papa  said  I  might 
ask  you,  and  he  is  going  to  invite  Mr.  Hinckley  and 
that  Chinese  gentleman  who  sat  with  the  judge. 
Wasn't  he  perfectly  splendid?  Of  course,  I  mean 
the  judge,  though  the  other  is  lovely,  too,  in  his 
beautiful  clothes." 

"My  dear,"  interrupted  Mr.  Lorimer,  "this  is  Mr. 
Secretary  of  Legation  Wang,  who,  together  with  Mr. 
Hinckley  and,  I  trust,  these  young  gentlemen,  will 
lunch  with  us." 

Mr.  Wang,  who,  being  a  graduate  of  Yale,  was 
quite  accustomed  to  American  ways,  gravely  shook 
hands  with  Annabel,  as  he  also  did  with  Rob ;  but  his 
exchange  of  greetings  with  his  own  young  country- 
man was  quite  different.  Instead  of  shaking  each 
other's  hand  and  saying  "How  do  you  do,  Mr. 
Wang?  Happy  to  meet  you,  Mr.  Lee,"  as  is  the 
American  custom,  they  bowed  profoundly  to  each 
other  several  times,  all  the  while  clasping  and  shak- 
ing their  own  hands  and  uttering  flowery  compli- 
ments in  Chinese. 

"How  funny  to  shake  one's  own  hand!"  laughed 


JO'S  ENEMIES  PREPARE  A  TRAP        63 

Annabel,  as  she  watched  with  delight  this  novel 
interchange  of  courtesies. 

"It  does  not  seem  funny  in  our  country,  Miss 
Lorimer,"  said  Mr.  Wang,  who  had  overheard  the 
remark.  "There  all  gentlemen,  and  ladies  as  well, 
wear  their  finger-nails  so  long  that  there  would  be 
danger  of  cutting,  or  at  least  scratching,  each  other's 
hands  if  they  should  exchange  the  courteous  salute 
in  the  American  way.  So  we  shake  our  own  hands, 
to  avoid  injuring  those  of  our  friends." 

"  But  why  do  you  wear  your  finger-nails  so  long?" 
asked  Annabel.  "I  should  think  it  would  be  very 
uncomfortable,  and  that  they  would  get  broken." 

"It  is  an  uncomfortable  fashion,  and  a  very  silly 
one,"  replied  Mr.  Wang.  "The  long  nails  are  so 
apt  to  get  broken,  as  you  suggest,  that  they  often 
are  protected  by  silver  sheaths.  The  reason  they 
are  allowed  to  grow  long  is  to  show  that  their  wearers 
are  not  obliged  to  labor  with  their  hands.  Chinese 
ladies  for  the  same  reason,  or  rather  to  show  that 
they  are  not  obliged  to  walk,  but  can  afford  to  be 
carried  about  by  servants,  compress  their  feet  un- 
til they  are  hopelessly  and  very  nearly  helplessly 
crippled  for  life." 

"How  dreadful!"  exclaimed  Annabel. 

"Yes.  Is  it  not?  But  is  it  any  more  dreadful 
than  certain  things  done  at  fashion's  decree  in  your 
own  country?  For  instance,  in  Washington  I  often 
see  ladies  dancing,  or  shivering  through  long  dinners, 
in  low-necked  and  sleeveless  gowns,  which  at  the 
same  time  are  so  tightly  compressed  at  the  waist  as 


64  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

to  cause  present  torture  and  future  misery.  I  see 
fashionable  men  dressed  in  exact  imitation  of  their 
own  servants,  and  only  to  be  distinguished  from 
them  by  a  round  bit  of  glass  worn  with  much  effort, 
and  with  absurd  distortions  of  the  face,  in  front  of 
the  right  eye — not  at  all  to  aid  the  sight,  mind  you, 
but  simply  because  it  is  fashionable.  (Yes,  both  our 
nations  are  guilty  of  following  many  absurd  fashions, 
and  each  laughs  at  the  other  on  account  of  them; 
but  to  my  mind  the  most  foolish  habit  of  all  is  for 
us  to  call  each  other  '  barbarians '  because  our  fash- 
ions in  silliness  happen  to  differ." 

In  all  this  Annabel  was  so  interested  that  the 
lunch -time  conversation  was  wholly  turned  upon 
Chinese  topics,  with  the  result  that  Mr.  Wang  proved 
himself  not  only  to  be  highly  educated,  widely 
travelled,  and  liberal-minded,  but  one  of  the  most 
entertaining  conversationalists  any  of  them  ever  had 
met.  So  impressed  were  his  hearers  by  what  this 
versatile  Chinese  gentleman  told  them,  that  when 
the  luncheon  was  ended  Annabel  regarded  herself 
as  one  of  the  most  fortunate  girls  in  the  world  be- 
cause of  her  prospect  of  going  to  China ;  Mr.  Lorimer 
was  thinking  of  the  same  country  as  probably  the 
most  interesting  place  they  should  visit  during  their 
travels;  Mr.  Hinckley  found  his  views  on  the  Chi- 
nese question  greatly  changed;  Rob  longed  to  get 
back  to  the  land  of  his  birth,  and  Jo  was  decidedly 
homesick. 

For  these  reasons  the  Lorimers  were  pleased  to 
learn  that  Mr.  Wang  proposed  to  remain  in  their  city 


JO'S  ENEMIES  PREPARE  A  TRAP        65 

a  day  or  two  longer,  while  Mr.  Hinckley  was  anxious 
to  reach  home  and  his  own  library,  where  he  might 
quietly  review  his  newly  received  impressions.  Rob 
was  equally  desirous  of  returning  to  Hatton  and  the 
lessons  that  must  be  learned  before  he  could  hope  to 
revisit  China,  while  Jo  was  made  happy  by  an  invi- 
tation from  Mr.  Wang  to  remain  with  him  during  his 

stay  in  S and  greet  the  other  young  Chinese 

then  being  educated  in  that  vicinity,  whom  the  sec- 
retary had  invited  to  dine  with  him  that  very  night. 
Mr.  Hinckley  was  more  than  willing  that  Jo  should 
accept  the  invitation,  and  remain  away  from  Hatton 
for  a  few  days  on  account  of  the  bitterness  of  feeling 
against  him  that  the  decision  of  the  court  was  cer- 
tain to  have  strengthened.  So  Jo  remained  behind 
when  the  Hinckleys  took  their  departure,  and  that 
evening,  passed  in  company  with  Mr.  Wang  and  a 
dozen  companions  of  his  own  nationality,  was  the 
very  happiest  he  ever  had  known.  They  dined  in  a 
room  by  themselves,  were  served  by  Chinese  waiters 
procured  from  a  near-by  laundry,  ate  their  rice  with 
chop-sticks,  drank  amber-colored  tea  without  sugar 
or  cream,  and  did  not  speak  one  word  of  anything 
but  Chinese  during  the  entire  evening.  The  one 
drawback  to  their  complete  happiness  was  that  dur- 
ing the  dinner  Mr.  Wang  received  a  telegram  con- 
cerning some  business  that  demanded  his  presence 
in  Boston  the  following  morning.  He  therefore  was 

obliged  to  leave  S on  a  late  train  that  same  night, 

much  to  his  own  regret  as  well  as  that  of  his  guests. 
His  final  instructions  to  Jo  were  to  entertain  his 


66  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

young  friends  at  breakfast  the  following  morning 
before  seeing  them  off  on  the  train  for  their  respec- 
tive places  of  study,  and  then  to  remain  in  S 

until  his  return,  which  probably  would  be  within 
two  days. 

This  programme  was  faithfully  carried  out  by  our 
lad  to  the  point  of  escorting  his  friends  to  the  rail- 
way-station and  seeing  them  off.  One  reason  for 
his  peculiar  enjoyment  of  their  company  was  that 
owing  to  Rob's  constant  companionship  his  own 
advance  in  learning  English,  as  well  as  in  acquiring 
general  knowledge,  had  been  so  much  more  rapid 
than  theirs  that  his  young  companions  acknowl- 
edged his  superiority  in  these  respects  with  openly 
expressed  wonder  and  admiration.  Then,  too,  his 
experience  in  American  law  courts,  that  had  resulted 
so  triumphantly,  caused  him  to  rank  among  them 
as  a  sort  of  a  hero,  to  be  regarded  with  great  respect. 

All  this  was  so  flattering  and  so  pleasant  to  Jo  that 
after  their  departure,  when  for  the  first  time  he 
found  himself  without  companions  in  a  city  of  stran- 
gers, his  extreme  loneliness  caused  him  to  seek  out 
the  Chinese  laundry  near  the  hotel.  There  he  would 
find  other  fellow-countrymen,  who,  if  not  of  his  own 
rank,  at  least  could  talk  to  him  in  his  native  tongue ; 
also  he  fancied  that  by  them  the  recent  flattery  which 
so  had  pleased  him  would  be  continued.  Nor  was 
he  mistaken,  for  when  he  reached  the  laundry  its 
inmates  received  him  with  profound  kotows,  indi- 
cating deep  respect,  and  quickly  provided  him  with 
tea  and  sweetmeats. 


JO'S  ENEMIES  PREPARE  A  TRAP         67 

As  Jo  had  been  curious  concerning  the  lives  and 
Occupations  in  America  of  these  people,  who,  though 
belonging  to  the  coolie  or  lowest  class  of  Chinese, 
still  were  his  countrymen,  he  spent  more  than  an 
hour  in  the  laundry,  asking  questions  and  acquiring 
much  information,  such  as  no  foreigner  could  have 
gained  in  a  lifetime.  So  interested  did  he  become, 
that,  in  order  to  realize  more  fully  the  nature  of  the 
work  they  were  doing,  he  took  from  one  of  them  the 
flat-iron  he  was  using  and  for  a  few  minutes  oper- 
ated it  himself. 

The  young  student  was  so  intent  upon  this  novel 
form  of  investigation  as  not  to  realize  that  he  was 
performing  actual  laundry-work  directly  before  an 
open  window,  through  which  he  was  plainly  visible 
to  outsiders.  Nor  did  he  notice  that  a  man,  loung- 
ing on  the  opposite  side  of  the  street,  was  keeping 
keen  watch  of  his  performance.  Even  if  Jo  had 
noticed  this  man  he  would  have  paid  no  attention 
to  him ;  nor  would  he  have  known  that  all  his  move- 
ments of  that  day  had  been  closely  followed  by  that 
same  individual.  But  this  was  the  case,  and  when 
Jo  appeared  at  the  open  window  of  the  Chinese 
laundry,  evidently  engaged  in  ironing  a  garment,  the 
man  smiled  grimly.  At  the  same  time  he  produced 
a  pocket-camera  having  a  telescopic  lens,  which  for 
a  moment  was  levelled  directly  at  the  unsuspecting 
lad. 

"  I  reckon  that  '11  settle  his  business,"  muttered  the 
man  to  himself.  "Who  would  have  thought  of  his 
playing  into  our  hands  by  doing  such  a  fool  thing?" 


68  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

A  little  later  Jo,  while  sitting  in  the  reading-room 
of  his  hotel,  was  handed  a  telegram,  the  very  first 
he  ever  had  received.  After  carefully  reading  the 
superscription,  to  make  sure  that  it  really  was  ad- 
dressed to  him,  he  tore  open  the  brown  envelope, 
nervously  unfolded  the  yellow  enclosure,  and  read 
as  follows: 

"  BREVOORT  HOUSE,  NEW  YORK  CITY. 
"  Have  important  need  of  you  here.      Take  first  train. 
Wire  time  of  your  arrival.     I  will  meet  you  at  station. 

"(Signed)  WANG  CHIH  TUNG,  Secretary,  etc." 

"Is  there  any  answer,  sir?"  asked  the  boy  who 
had  delivered  this  despatch  and  who  stood  waiting 
while  Jo  read  it.  "Here  are  blanks  if  you  want 
them." 

"Yes,"  replied  our  lad,  speaking  slowly,  but 
thinking  at  top  speed.  "I  want  to  send  two  of 
these  same  things.  Can  you  take  them  and  see 
that  they  go  light  away  quick?" 

"Yes,  sir,"  replied  the  boy.  "That  is  my  busi- 
ness." 

"Can  you  tell  me  how  soon  I  can  get  a  train  for 
New  York?" 

"  In  ten  minutes,  if  you  hurry,"  answered  the  boy 
promptly. 

"When  will  it  get  me  to  New  York?" 

"Ten  thirty  to-night." 

"You  are  sure?" 

"Sure,  sir,  as  if  I  was  a  railroad  time-table." 

Relieved  at  so  easily  having  obtained  the  infor- 


JO'S    ENEMIES    PREPARE    A    TRAP  69 

mation  he  wanted,  and  excited  at  thus  being  sum- 
moned by  so  high  a  dignitary  as  Mr.  Wang,  Jo  wrote 
two  despatches  on  blanks  provided  by  the  waiting 
boy,  and  gave  them  to  him  for  delivery  at  the  near- 
est telegraph  -  office.  One  was  to  Mr.  Wang,  an- 
nouncing the  proposed  hour  of  his  reaching  New 
York,  and  the  other,  telling  of  his  intended  trip  to 
that  city,  was  addressed  to  Mr.  Hinckley.  For 
each  of  these  he  paid  the  boy  twenty-five  cents,  and 
then,  having  no  time  to  lose,  he  hurried  to  the  rail- 
way-station. There  he  had  barely  secured  a  ticket 
for  New  York  when  an  express-train  thundered  up 
to  the  platform.  Two  minutes  later  it  was  rolling 
swiftly  away,  carrying  as  passengers  Chinese  Jo  and 
the  man  who  had  followed  his  movements  so  closely 
all  that  day. 


CHAPTER  IX 

JO    FINDS    THAT    HE    IS    SOME    ONE    ELSE 

WHEN,  late  at  night,  Chinese  Jo  reached  New  York 
and  alighted  from  his  train  in  the  Grand  Central 
Station  he  was  bewildered  and  almost  frightened  by 
his  surroundings.  He  found  himself  in  a  vast  edi- 
fice occupied  by  many  long  trains  of  cars,  some 
standing  still,  either  receiving  or  discharging  pas- 
sengers, and  others  in  motion,  drawn  or  pushed  by 
hoarsely  puffing  locomotives.  Between  every  two 
trains  was  a  narrow  platform  extending  the  whole 
length  of  the  great  station,  and  most  of  these  were 
crowded  with  outgoing  or  incoming  passengers,  all 
in  a  hurry,  and  each  too  intent  upon  his  own  af- 
fairs to  pay  attention  to  those  of  his  neighbors. 
Among  them  moved  red-capped  porters  and  blue- 
clad  railway  officials,  too  mindful  of  their  own  im- 
portance to  condescend  to  answer  the  low-voiced 
questions  of  an  insignificant  "Chinaman." 

As  Jo  drifted  with  the  tide  of  one  of  these  human 
streams,  his  eyes  searched  anxiously  every  face 
within  his  range  of  vision  with  the  hope  of  discover- 
ing Mr.  Wang.  But  no  such  good-fortune  was  in 
store  for  him,  and  finally  he  reached  the  street 
without  having  found  his  friend.  He  had  asked 

70 


JO    FINDS    THAT    HE    IS    SOME    ONE    ELSE  71 

several  of  the  uniformed  officials  if  they  had  seen  a 
Chinese  gentleman  anywhere  about  the  station,  but 
some  of  them  had  only  laughed  without  answering, 
while  others  had  paid  no  attention  to  him.  Outside 
the  station,  however,  and  standing  irresolute  on  the 
sidewalk,  Jo  was  beset  by  plenty  of  persons  anxious 
to  serve  him.  Drivers  of  carriages,  cabs,  and  baggage 
wagons  shouted  at  him  and  solicited  his  patronage. 
Agents  of  express  companies  wanted  to  take  charge 
of  his  luggage,  ragged  street  urchins  struggled  for 
possession  of  his  hand-bag,  while  hotel-runners  be- 
sieged him  with  cards  of  their  respective  houses. 

"But  I  only  want  to  go  to  the  Blevoort  Hotel," 
he  finally  managed  to  explain,  "and  not  anywhere 
else." 

"Take  you  to  the  Brevoort  for  five  dollars," 
shouted  a  hack-driver,  waving  a  whip  in  the  lad's 
face  and  at  the  same  time  reaching  for  his  hand-bag. 

"I  am  going  to  the  Brevoort  House,  and  will  show 
you  the  way  if  you  like,"  said  some  one  close  behind 
Jo,  as  he  was  attempting  to  explain  that  he  had  not 
five  dollars  to  expend  on  carriage-hire. 

Turning,  our  lad  saw  a  man,  evidently,  from  the 
bag  that  he  carried,  a  traveller  like  himself,  and, 
greatly  relieved  to  find  some  one  willing  to  aid  him 
in  this  time  of  trouble,  he  gratefully  accepted  the 
stranger's  offer  of  guidance. 

"All  right,  then,  come  along,"  said  the  man.  "No, 
we  don't  want  no  hack.  Street-cars  are  good  enough 
for  us." 

With  this  he  waved  aside  the  clamorous  throng 


72  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

of  drivers,  and  led  the  way  to  a  car  bound  down- 
town. As  they  rode,  the  stranger,  while  admitting 
that  he  was  not  a  resident  of  New  York,  so  impressed 
our  lad  with  his  knowledge  of  the  great  city,  and  of 
the  manifold  pitfalls  that  it  held  for  the  unwary, 
that  he  inwardly  congratulated  himself  upon  having 
met  so  willing  a  guide,  who  at  the  same  time  was 
so  competent  to  direct  his  steps. 

The  car  took  them  within  one  block  of  their  desti- 
nation, and  when  Jo  read  the  name  "  Brevoort"  over 
the  doorway  of  the  hotel  he  believed  his  troubles 
to  be  ended,  for  surely  here  he  would  find  his 
friend,  or  at  least  learn  of  his  whereabouts. 

"Is  there  a  gentleman  by  the  name  of  Wang 
stopping  here?"  he  inquired  of  a  sprucely  attired 
clerk  at  the  desk. 

"Not  if  we  know  it,"  was  the  reply,  accompanied 
by  a  supercilious  stare. 

' '  But  I  received  a  telegram  only  a  few  hours  ago 
telling  me  to  meet  him  here." 

"Can't  help  that.  If  he  is  here  it's  without  my 
knowledge,  and  you'll  have  to  find  him  as  best  you 
can." 

"Then  I  will  take  a  room  for  the  night  and  wait 
till  he  comes,"  said  poor  Jo,  desperately.  "This  is 
the  only  address  he  gave,  and  so  he  is  sure  to  look 
here  for  me  sooner  or  later." 

"Haven't  a  vacant  room  in  the  house,"  answered 
the  clerk,  shortly;  "and  if  you  think  this  hotel  is  a 
Chinese  joint  you're  mightily  mistaken." 

"Let's  get  out  of  here,"  said  Jo's  friendly  guide. 


JO    FINDS    THAT    HE    IS    SOME    ONE    ELSE  73 

"That's  outrageous;  and  if  this  place  isn't  good 
enough  for  you  it  isn't  good  enough  for  me  either." 

Here,  unobserved  by  our  lad,  the  speaker  winked 
at  the  clerk,  who  winked  back  understandingly. 
"Come  with  me,"  added  the  man.  "I'll  show  you 
a  decent  place,  where  we  can  spend  the  night,  and 
to-morrow  I'll  help  you  hunt  your  friend." 

As  Jo  knew  not  what  else  to  do,  he  for  a  second 
time  gratefully  accepted  the  offer  of  this  stranger, 
and  followed  him  out  through  the  inhospitable  door- 
way he  had  so  hopefully  entered  a  few  minutes  be- 
fore. Again  boarding  a  street-car,  they  were  car- 
ried far  down-town,  and  finally  reached  a  small 
hotel,  in  which  they  secured  a  room  containing  two 
beds. 

There  they  spent  the  remainder  of  the  night  and 
had  breakfast  the  next  morning.  By  this  time  Jo 
had  determined  to  make  one  more  effort  to  find  Mr. 
Wang  at  the  Brevoort  House,  and,  if  it  failed,  to 
return  at  once  to  Hatton.  He  still  had  money  with 
him  to  pay  his  fare,  but  not  enough  to  keep  him 
much  longer  at  a  New  York  hotel.  During  break- 
fast, which  he  and  his  newly  formed  acquaintance 
ate  together,  he  confided  this  plan  to  the  latter,  who 
gave  it  his  hearty  approval. 

"Best  thing  you  can  do,"  he  said.  "New  York 
is  no  place  for  a  stranger,  more  especial  a  foreigner 
who  is  not  used  to  American  ways.  There's  only  one 
thing,  though.  While  we're  down-town  we  might 
as  well  visit  the  office  of  the  police  commissioners, 
and  find  out  what  they  know  about  your  friend. 


74  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

They  keep  track  of  all  foreigners  arriving  in  the  city, 
and  are  sure  to  have  full  information  concerning  any 
one  so  distinguished  as  your  Mr.  Wang.  It's  only 
about  a  couple  of  blocks  away,  and  you  can  leave 
your  bag  here  to  pick  up  as  you  come  back." 

Jo  agreed  to  this  proposal;  and,  filled  with  a 
new  hope,  willingly  accompanied  his  friendly  guide. 
They  walked  much  farther  than  two  blocks,  but  our 
lad  was  so  fascinated  by  the  novel  sights  about  him 
that  he  took  no  note  of  the  distance  traversed. 
Finally  they  entered  a  massive  stone  building,  in 
which  an  elevator  speedily  lifted  them  several  stories 
above  the  street  level.  Jo  caught  a  glimpse  of  the 
word  "Commissioner,"  printed  in  letters  of  gold  over 
a  doorway,  as  he  was  ushered  into  an  anteroom, 
the  entrance  to  which  was  guarded  by  an  officer. 
His  acquaintance  seemed  to  know  this  man,  for  he 
nodded  to  him  as  they  passed  in.  Then  he  said  to 
Jo: 

"You  sit  here  and  wait  a  few  minutes,  while  I  go 
and  see  if  the  commissioner  can  give  us  a  hearing." 

With  this  he  turned  away  and  disappeared 
through  a  second  doorway  at  the  other  end  of  the 
room. 

So  Jo  waited  and  waited  with  the  unquestioning 
patience  of  his  race  until  more  than  an  hour  had 
passed,  while  many  persons  went  in  and  out  without 
paying  him  the  slightest  attention.  At  length  he 
began  to  grow  uneasy;  and,  walking  over  to  the 
officer  who  guarded  the  door,  he  asked: 

"Is  the  commissioner  very  busy  this  morning?" 


JO    FINDS    THAT    HE    IS    SOME    ONE    ELSE  75 

"Rather,"  was  the  laconic  answer. 

"Then,  perhaps,  I  had  better  not  wait  any 
longer." 

"Oh,  I  guess  you  had,"  was  the  reply,  accom- 
panied by  a  curious  scrutiny  of  the  young  Chinese. 

"But  it  may  be  that  he  won't  have  time  to  attend 
to  my  affair." 

"He'll  attend  to  you  fast  enough  when  the  time 
comes.  Never  you  fear." 

Reassured,  but  at  the  same  time  somewhat  per- 
plexed by  these  answers,  Jo  returned  to  his  seat  and 
waited  another  hour.  Then,  determined  to  remain 
no  longer,  he  walked  to  the  door  with  the  intention 
of  going  back  to  the  hotel  and  carrying  out  his 
original  plan. 

"What  do  you  want  now?"  inquired  the  officer 
on  guard. 

"  I  am  not  going  to  wait  any  longer,"  replied  Jo. 

"  Oh,  you're  not  going  to  wait  any  longer,  aren't 
you?  Reckon  we'll  see  about  that,  too.  Just  you 
stroll  back  to  where  the  deputy  marshal  left  you, 
and  stay  there  till  you're  ordered  to  move,  or  I'll 
make  things  lively  for  you.  Do  you  hear  me, 
Chink?  Well,  then,  get  a  move  on." 

Bewildered  and  frightened  by  the  officer's  fierce 
aspect,  Jo  did  as  he  was  bidden,  and  again  re- 
sumed his  seat.  He  had  hardly  taken  it,  when  the 
door  through  which  his  acquaintance  had  disap- 
peared was  flung  open  and  another  officer  called 
out,  "Joseph  Lee!"  a  summons  that  our  lad  obeyed 
with  alacrity. 


76  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

He  was  ushered  into  a  comfortably  furnished 
room,  containing  a  number  of  men,  and  was  con- 
ducted to  the  presence  of  one  who  sat  behind  a  desk. 
Near  at  hand  stood  his  acquaintance  of  the  night 
before. 

"Is  this  your  man,  deputy?"  asked  the  person 
behind  the  desk. 

"Yes,  sir;  he  is,"  replied  Jo's  acquaintance,  who 
was  a  deputy  United  States  marshal,  engaged  in 
searching  out  illegal  Chinese  residents  of  the  Eastern 
District. 

"What  is  your  name?"  asked  the  man  behind  the 
desk,  now  turning  to  Jo. 

"Joseph  Lee,"  was  the  reply. 

"Native  of  China?" 

"Yes,  sir." 

"How  long  have  you  been  in  this  country?" 

"About  eight  months." 

"Where?" 

"Hatton." 

"What  have  you  been  doing  there?" 

"Studying." 

"Never  lived  in  S ?" 

"No,  sir;  but—" 

"Never  mind  your  buts.  Haven't  you  been  em- 
ployed in  Charley  Wing's  laundry  in  S ?" 

"Certainly  not.     I  am  a  student,  and — " 

"This  isn't  your  picture,  then?"  said  the  United 
States  commissioner,  at  the  same  time  holding  out 
an  enlarged  photograph  of  a  scene  in  a  Chinese 
laundry. 


JO    FINDS    THAT    HE    IS    SOME    ONE    ELSE  77 

Jo  took  it,  and  to  his  amazement  recognized  him- 
self, prominently  in  the  foreground,  and  engaged 
in  ironing  as  though  that  were  his  trade. 

"Yes,  sir,"  he  answered.  "This  seems  to  be  a 
picture  of  me;  but — " 

"That  will  do,"  interrupted  the  commissioner 
sharply.  "Now  let  me  see  your  certificate." 

Jo  had  a  certificate  of  identity,  to  which  was  at- 
tached a  photograph  of  himself  as  he  had  looked 
when  about  to  leave  Hong-Kong.  This  certificate 
had  been  furnished  by  an  American  consul-general 
in  China;  and,  as  he  had  been  warned  always  to 
keep  it  about  his  person,  he  now  was  able  promptly 
to  produce  it. 

"Um,  um,"  muttered  the  commissioner,  as  he 
glanced  over  the  paper.  Then  aloud  he  added: 
"This  appears  to  be  a  certificate  of  identity  issued 
to  one  Li  Tsin  Su,  student,  unable  to  speak  English, 
and  so  forth.  You  speak  English  fluently,  declare 
your  name  to  be  Joseph  Lee,  and  admit  the  correct- 
ness of  this  picture  of  yourself  at  work  in  a  Chinese 
laundry,  a  photograph,  by-the-way,  that  does  not  in 
the  least  resemble  the  one  attached  to  this  certificate. 
Thus,  your  case  seems  to  prove  itself  beyond  need  of 
further  investigation,  for  you  don't  appear  to  be 
anywhere  near  as  sharp  in  matters  of  deception  as 
most  of  your  tricky  countrymen.  I  rather  think 
you  won't  find  America  a  congenial  sphere  for  your 
future  studies.  Marshal,  remove  the  prisoner,  and 
retain  him  in  custody  until  such  time  as  the  next 
personally  conducted  excursion  is  ready  to  start." 


78  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

"This  is  an  outrage!"  protested  poor  Jo,  strug- 
gling furiously  in  the  viselike  grip  of  the  man  who 
had  taken  him  in  charge,  "and  I  shall  appeal — " 

"Shut  up!"  growled  the  officer,  "and  come  along 
quiet,  or  you'll  only  make  a  bad  matter  worse." 

With  this  he  hustled  his  indignant  but  helpless 
prisoner  from  the  room  at  so  breathless  a  pace  that 
he  could  utter  no  further  word  of  protest. 

A  half-hour  later  saw  our  unfortunate  lad  stripped 
of  everything  found  in  his  pockets  and  lodged  in 
one  of  the  city  prisons,  in  company  with  several  of 
his  countrymen,  all  of  the  coolie  class,  who  were 
awaiting  orders  from  Washington  for  their  depor- 
tation to  China  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of 
the  Chinese  Exclusion  Act  of  the  United  States. 


CHAPTER  X 
WHAT    HAPPENED    ON    THE    WAY    TO    CHINA 

OF  course,  the  telegram  purporting  to  come  from 
the  Chinese  secretary  of  legation,  by  which  Jo  had 
been  lured  to  New  York,  was  a  forgery;  nor  had 
either  of  those  intrusted  by  him  to  the  bogus  mes- 
senger-boy, who  delivered  it,  ever  been  forwarded  to 
its  address.  Thus,  Jo's  Hatton  friends  had  no  idea 

that  he  had  left  S ,  but  supposed  him  to  be 

there  in  company  with  Mr.  Wang.  They  were  well 
satisfied  that  this  should  be  so  for  a  time,  and  Rob 
was  especially  glad ;  for  whenever  he  met  any  of  the 
muckers  they  were  sure  to  call  out: 

"Say,  saphead,  where's  yer  Chinee?  Don't  yer 
dare  let  him  out,  for  fear  he'll  get  hurted?  Yer 
scared  to  be  seen  on  the  street  with  him,  that's 
what's  the  matter!  Yer  needn't  be,  though,  fer  we 
wouldn't  tech  him  with  a  ten-foot  pole,  specially  if 
yer'd  muzzle  him  and  lead  him  by  a  chain,  same  as 
they  do  all  the  other  big  monkeys.  Bet  yer  don't 
know  where  he  is!  Bet  he's  got  woozy  and  runned 
away!  He'd  better  stay  away,  too,  or  we'll  fix  him 
good!" 

So,  for  about  a  week,  Rob  was  not  sorry  to  have 
his  friend  in  a  place  that  promised  a  greater  safety 

79 


80  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

than  Hatton.  At  the  end  of  that  time,  however,  the 
Hinckley  family  began  to  wonder  why  they  did  not 
hear  from  their  young  guest,  and  Rob  wrote  him  a 

letter,  that  he  sent  to  the  hotel  in  S .  It  was 

promptly  returned,  with  a  note  from  the  proprietor 
stating  that  the  Chinese  lad  only  had  stayed  in  his 
house  one  day,  and  then  had  disappeared,  but  that 
a  telegram  for  him  lay  unclaimed  in  the  office. 

Mr.  Hinckley  at  once  sent  for  this  telegram,  which 
proved  to  be  from  Mr.  Wang,  dated  at  Boston,  stat- 
ing that  he  should  be  unable  to  revisit  S ,  and 

advising  Jo's  immediate  return  to  Hatton.  It  was 
a  week  old.  Upon  this  Mr.  Hinckley  telegraphed  to 
Washington,  only  to  receive  word  that  Mr.  Wang  was 
travelling  in  the  South  and  would  not  be  back  for  a 
month.  Inquiries  for  the  missing  lad  were  now  set 
on  foot  in  every  direction,  but  no  clew  to  his  where- 
abouts could  be  found;  nor  was  it  for  long  months 
after  his  disappearance  that  its  mystery  was  cleared 
away. 

In  the  mean  time,  much  as  our  Hatton  friends  were 
troubled  by  their  young  guest's  unexplained  van- 
ishing, their  attention  was  largely  diverted  from  it 
by  news  from  China  that  Dr.  Hinckley  was  seriously 
ill.  The  first  intimation  of  this  came  in  a  letter  that 
told  of  his  failing  health  and  of  his  plan  to  seek  its 
restoration  through  a  visit  to  America. 

"Won't  it  be  fine!"  exclaimed  Rob,  "to  have 
them  here?  Father  '11  be  sure  to  get  well  as  soon 
as  he  sights  the  Connecticut  Valley.  Its  air  always 
has  made  a  new  man  of  him." 


8i 

For  a  whole  day  he  revelled  in  these  happy  antici- 
pations. Then  came  the  fateful  cablegram  that  in 
a  moment  swept  away  his  light  -  heartedness  and 
changed  the  whole  current  of  his  life.  It  was  from 
his  mother,  and  was  in  the  private  code  that  his 
parents  had  prepared  when  they  left  him  in  Hatton. 
In  all  the  years  since  then  he  had  been  obliged  to 
refer  to  this  code  but  twice;  for  people  living  on 
small  salaries  cannot  often  afford  to  send  messages 
costing  several  dollars  per  word,  with  both  address 
and  signature  to  be  paid  for  at  full  rates.  The  present 
message  that  had  been  flashed  from  far-away  China, 
across  Asia,  under  the  Indian  Ocean,  the  Red  Sea, 
and  the  Mediterranean,  across  Europe  and  under 
the  Atlantic,  read  as  follows: 

"  Syntax,  Boston. — Fable,  garnet,  hazel." 

The  word  "  Syntax  "  had,  from  the  first,  been  regis- 
tered in  the  Western  Union  office  at  Boston,  to  save 
the  expense  of  cabling  the  name  of  the  State  in 
which  Hatton  was  located,  and  it  meant,  "Rev. 
William  Hinckley,  Hatton,"  to  which  address  the 
despatch  had  been  forwarded  at  an  extra  charge  of 
twenty-five  cents. 

"Bring  the  code-book,  quick,  Rob!"  exclaimed 
Mr.  Hinckley,  as  this  message  dropped  like  a  bomb- 
shell into  the  quiet  circle  gathered  in  the  pleasant 
parsonage  parlor  that  evening.  Rob  had  been 
studying  his  lessons  for  the  next  day,  his  uncle  was 
reading,  and  Mrs.  Hinckley  happened  to  be  writing 
a  letter  to  China. 


82  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

In  a  few  seconds  the  boy  had  dashed  up-stairs 
and  was  back  with  the  alphabetically  arranged  code- 
book. 

"Fable?"  said  his  uncle,  and  Rob,  turning  to  the 
F's,  ran  his  finger  hastily  down  the  long  column. 

"Oh!"  he  gasped,  "Fable  means,  'Mason  too  ill 
to  travel.' ' 

"Garnet?"  continued  Mr.  Hinckley,  huskily. 

"  Garnet  means, '  Wants  to  see  Rob  before  he  dies.' 
Do  you  believe  it  can  be  as  bad  as  that,  Uncle  Will?" 
and  a  choking  sob  rose  in  the  boy's  throat. 

"First  find  the  meaning  of  'Hazel,'  and  then  we 
will  talk  about  it,"  replied  Mr.  Hinckley. 

"Hazel,"  replied  Rob,  in  another  moment,  means, 
'Send  Rob  to  us  at  once.' ' 

"Oh,  Rob!  my  dear,  dear  boy!"  cried  Mrs.  Hinck- 
ley. "It  is  terrible  for  you,  and  it  is  going  to  be 
dreadfully  hard  to  give  you  up,  for  you  have  be- 
come as  our  own  son." 

"But  we  must  give  him  up,  and  that  at  once," 
said  her  husband,  sorrowfully,  "since  the  meaning 
of  this  despatch  cannot  for  a  moment  be  misunder- 
stood. Mason's  illness  must  have  taken  such  a  sud- 
den turn  for  the  worse  that  his  life  is  endangered. 
They  evidently  hope,  though,  to  prolong  it  for  some 
weeks,  at  least,  or  Fanny  would  not  send  for  Rob. 
She  knows  that  he  cannot,  under  the  most  favorable 
conditions,  reach  her  in  less  than  a  month." 

"But  in  case  of  the  worst,  she  would  want  Rob 
with  her,"  suggested  Mrs.  Hinckley. 

"In  that  case  she  would  come  to  him,  for,  with 


WHAT    HAPPENED    ON    THE    WAY    TO    CHINA        83 

Mason  dead,  there  would  be  nothing  to  keep  her  in 
China." 

"That's  so,"  said  Rob,  hopefully.  "I  hadn't 
thought  of  that.  When  do  you  think  I  can  start, 
Uncle  Will?  I  suppose  we'll  have  to  telegraph  all 
the  different  companies  to  find  out  which  of  them 
sends  out  the  first  steamer." 

"That  would  be  expensive  and  take  time,"  replied 
Mr.  Hinckley.  "I  believe  we  can  do  better.  The 
Post-Office  Department  keeps  track  of  the  sailing 
dates  of  all  steamers  that  carry  mails,  in  order  that 
letters  may  be  despatched  as  often  and  as  quickly 
as  possible.  So,  though  our  post-office  must  be 
closed  by  this  hour,  I  will  go  over  to  Postmaster 
Garrett's  house,  and  see  if  he  hasn't  a  printed  slip 
giving  the  sailing  dates  of  Pacific  steamers  for  the 
next  few  weeks.  While  I  am  gone,  you  and  your 
aunt  can  be  getting  your  things  together  ready  for 
packing." 

With  this  Mr.  Hinckley  was  about  to  leave  the 
house,  when  his  wife  said: 

"Why,  William,  those  post-office  notices  are  al- 
ways published  in  the  Boston  papers,  and  there  is 
yesterday's  lying  on  the  table." 

"So  it  is!"  exclaimed  Mr.  Hinckley,  picking  up 
the  paper  as  he  spoke.  "How  stupid  I  am!  Yes, 
here  is  the  very  thing  we  want:  'China  and  Japan, 
via  Tacoma,  mails  close  5  P.M.  on  the  6th,  steam- 
ship Oriental.'  That  is  to-morrow,  and  it  means 
that  mails  will  be  taken  on  the  evening  express 
which  reaches  Albany  about  midnight.  There  it 


84  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

meets  and  makes  part  of  the  New  York  night  ex- 
press for  Chicago.  From  Chicago  they  will  go  to 
St.  Paul,  and  then,  by  way  of  the  Northern  Pacific 
Coast,  Limited,  to  Tacoma,  reaching  there  on  the 
loth,  which  undoubtedly  is  the  Oriental's  sailing 
date.  At  any  rate,  Rob,  so  long  as  you  go  with 
the  mail  you  are  bound  to  be  travelling  the  quick- 
est possible  way.  To  catch  the  Boston  express,  you 
must  go  to  Albany  by  the  noon  train  to-morrow.  I 
shall  go  with  you  that  far,  and  we  will  make  all  your 
ticket  arrangements  there." 

Thus,  within  fifteen  minutes  from  the  time  that 
fateful  cablegram  found  Rob  Hinckley  quietly 
studying  lessons  for  the  morrow,  and  expecting  to  do 
little  else  for  many  months  more,  school  had  become 
a  thing  of  the  seemingly  remote  past,  and  he  was  a 
traveller  bound  on  a  journey  that  would  take  him 
half-way  around  the  world.  Moreover,  the  earlier 
details  of  this  journey  were  already  planned,  and  he 
was  to  set  forth  within  a  few  hours.  It  is  no  wonder 
that  he  got  but  little  sleep  that  night,  nor  that  he 
was  up  at  daylight  packing  his  trunk  and  sorting 
out  certain  cherished  possessions  that  he  meant  to 
distribute  as  keepsakes  among  his  boy  friends. 

He  went  to  school  at  the  usual  hour,  but  only  to 
announce  his  departure  to  the  masters,  say  good- 
bye, and  collect  his  books.  The  head-master  re- 
quested him  to  wait  a  few  minutes  and  accompany 
him  to  the  great  hall  where  the  entire  school  as- 
sembled for  morning  prayer.  There,  to  Rob's  em- 
barrassment, he  was  conducted  to  a  seat  of  honor 


WHAT    HAPPENED    ON    THE    WAY    TO    CHINA        85 

on  the  platform,  from  which  the  master  gave  notice 
of  his  coming  departure,  stated  its  sad  cause,  said 
some  very  flattering  things  about  Rob  himself,  and 
then  asked  the  school  to  join  him  in  an  earnest 
prayer  for  their  young  friend's  safety  during  the 
tremendous  journey  he  was  about  to  undertake,  and 
that  at  its  end  he  not  only  might  find  his  dear  father 
alive,  but  restored  to  health. 

At  the  conclusion  of  this  prayer  tears  stood  in 
Rob's  eyes  and  in  those  of  many  of  his  young 
friends  as  well.  He  wanted,  before  leaving,  to  say 
good-bye  to  the  whole  body  of  his  school-mates,  as 
he  did  not  expect  to  see  any  of  them  again ;  but  he 
did  not  exactly  know  how  to  do  so,  and  was  im- 
mensely relieved  when  the  head  -  master  further 
said: 

"Robert  is  to  leave  Hatton  by  the  noon  train 
to-day,  and  in  order  that  his  friends  here  gathered 
may  have  the  opportunity,  which  I  am  sure  they 
desire,  of  bidding  him  farewell  and  seeing  him  off, 
all  classes  will  be  dismissed  at  eleven  clock." 

As  a  result  of  this  thoughtful  provision,  for  nearly 
an  hour  preceding  the  departure  of  the  Albany  train 
the  little  Hatton  railway-station  presented  one  of 
the  liveliest  scenes  in  its  history,  and  Rob  was 
greatly  affected  by  the  innumerable  evidences  of 
esteem  showered  upon  him  by  his  school-mates. 
When  the  train  finally  pulled  out,  with  our  lad  wav- 
ing his  hat  from  the  rear  platform  of  its  last  car,  it 
was  to  an  accompaniment  of  a  hurricane  of  cheers 
and  farewell  shouts. 


86  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

"Who  is  the  most  popular  fellow  in  Hatton?" 
cried  the  leader  of  the  academy  rooters. 

"  R-O-B,  Rob!  H-I-N-C-K-L-E-Y,  Hinckley!  ROB 
HINCKLEY!  Hi -ho!  Hi -ho!  GOOD-BYE!"  was 
the  answer  shouted  forth  in  tremendous  chorus 
by  every  boy  and  girl  present;  and  this  was  our 
young  traveller's  final  farewell  from  the  place  that 
seemed  his  home  more  than  any  other  in  all  the 
world. 

For  three  days  after  leaving  Albany,  Rob  jour- 
neyed swiftly  and  without  untoward  incident  past 
Buffalo  and  Chicago,  up  into  the  great  Northwest, 
through  St.  Paul,  amid  the  vast  wheat-fields  of  Min- 
nesota and  the  Red  River  valley,  over  the  limit- 
less prairies  of  North  Dakota,  through  the  "Bad 
Lands"  bordering  the  Little  Missouri,  and  into  the 
incredibly  rich  copper  regions  of  Montana.  Then 
came  the  dreadful  day  on  which  he  lost  his  train, 
and  with  it  all  hope  of  catching  the  only  advertised 
steamer  to  leave  the ' '  coast ' '  for  a  week.  It  happened 
at  Helena,  where  the  train  was  to  remain  for  fifteen 
minutes;  and  Rob,  tired  with  being  so  long  shut  up 
in  a  car,  decided  to  take  a  brisk  walk  into  the  town. 
He  wanted  to  see  something  of  the  place,  and  needed 
the  exercise. 

So  he  set  forth,  walked  as  far  as  he  dared,  allowed 
too  narrow  a  margin  of  time  for  his  return,  missed 
his  way,  and  finally  regained  the  station  only  to  see 
his  train  pulling  out  from  its  farther  end.  For  a 
second  he  could  not  believe  his  eyes.  Then  he  ran 
madly  after  the  disappearing  cars,  screaming  for 


WHAT    HAPPENED    ON    THE    WAY    TO    CHINA        87 

them  to  stop.  Even  in  the  blindness  of  his  excite- 
ment a  moment  of  this  effort  convinced  him  of  its 
folly,  and  he  halted  on  the  edge  of  the  platform, 
while  two  great,  scalding  tears,  that  he  had  no  heart 
to  repress,  coursed  slowly  down  his  cheeks. 


" Is  it  as  bad  as  all  that,  my  boy?"  asked  a  kindly 
voice  at  Rob's  elbow;  and  the  lad,  turning  quickly, 
looked  into  the  sympathetic  face  of  a  United  States 
army  officer,  whose  khaki  uniform  was  faced  with 
red. 

Captain  John  Astley,  commanding  Battery  Z  of 
Field  Artillery,  returning  from  leave  in  the  'East, 
had  been  placed  in  temporary  charge  of  a  body  of 
recruits  ordered  to  Vancouver  Barracks,  near  Port- 
land, Oregon,  which  was  his  station.  He  had 
stopped  at  Helena  en  route,  to  pick  up  a  few  more 
newly  enlisted  men,  and,  being  at  the  railway-station 
that  morning,  was  attracted  by  Rob's  running  and 
shouting  after  his  rapidly  vanishing  train.  Captain 
Astley  was  tender-hearted,  as  are  all  brave  men; 
and,  noting  our  young  traveller's  genuine  distress, 
he  impulsively  stepped  forward  to  inquire  into  its 
cause.  As  he  saw  tears  on  the  lad's  cheeks,  he  knew 
it  must  be  serious,  for  Rob  did  not  look  like  a  fellow 
from  whose  eyes  tears  could  easily  be  extracted. 

"Yes,  sir,"  replied  poor  Rob,  who,  longing  for 
sympathy  in  this  moment  of  distress,  was  moved  by 
the  kindly  face  of  the  stranger  to  unburden  his  heart 


ACCEPT    A    KINDNESS    AND    PASS    IT    ALONG         89 

of  its  load  of  trouble.  "  It  is  about  as  bad  as  it  can 
be,  for  my  father  is  dying  in  China,  and  my  only 
chance  of  seeing  him  alive  lay  in  catching  the 
Oriental,  which  sails  from  Tacoma  to-morrow  even- 
ing. Now  I  have  lost  her,  and  there  won't  be  an- 
other steamer  of  that  line  for  nearly  a  month.  Be- 
sides, my  baggage  is  on  the  train  just  gone;  and 
my  pocket-book,  with  my  tickets  and  all  my  money, 
has  gone  with  it,  locked  up  in  my  suit-case." 

"That  does  seem  a  rather  serious  situation,"  said 
fCaptain  Astley,  gravely,  "but  perhaps  it  won't  prove 
irremediable,  after  all.  I've  noticed  that  things 
looking  the  darkest  at  first  view  often  brighten 
upon  closer  inspection.  Suppose  we  sit  down  for  a 
minute  and  see  what  light  can  be  thrown  into  this 
darkness." 

When  Rob  had  accepted  this  friendly  invitation, 
and  the  two  had  seated  themselves  on  a  near-by 
baggage-truck,  the  elder  man  continued:  "To  begin 
with,  let  us  know  each  other.  I  am  John  Astley, 
Captain  of  Artillery,  U.S.A.,  and  stationed  at  Van- 
couver Barracks,  to  which  place  I  must  proceed 
by  to-morrow  morning's  train.  I  wanted  to  go  on 
to-day,  but,  unexpectedly,  was  detained  at  the  last 
moment,  and  came  to  the  station  to  hold  over  my 
luggage.  I  must  confess  that  I  was  much  annoyed 
at  this  detention,  but  if  it  affords  me  an  oppor- 
tunity of  helping  you  out  of  your  trouble  I  shall 
not  regret  it." 

"Thank  you,  sir,"  replied  the  lad.  "My  name  is 
Rob  Hinckley.  I  am  the  son  of  a  medical  mission- 


90  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

ary,  stationed  at  Wu  Hsing,  on  the  Si  Kiang,  in 
China,  where  I  was  born;  but  I  have  lived  for  the 
past  fourteen  years,  and  gone  to  school,  in  New 
England.  I  have  passed  my  preliminaries  for  Yale, 
and  should  have  entered  next  fall  if  the  news  of  my 
father's  serious  illness,  and  his  great  desire  to  see 
me  before  he  died,  had  not  altered  all  my  plans. 
Now,  by  my  own  carelessness  in  walking  too  far, 
while  the  train  waited  here,  I  not  only  have  lost  it, 
but  probably  have  lost  my  only  chance  of  ever  see- 
ing him  again." 

"  Isn't  there  a  steamer  of  some  other  line — the 
Empress  from  Vancouver,  the  Yusen  Kaisha  from 
Seattle,  or  the  Pacific  Mail  from  San  Francisco — 
that  you  can  take  within  a  few  days?"  suggested 
Captain  Astley. 

"There  is  one  from  San  Francisco  in  about  a 
week,  but,  you  see,  my  fare  is  paid  through  to 
Nagasaki  by  the  Tacoma  line,  and  I'm  afraid  I 
haven't  money  enough  to  buy  another  ticket.  Be- 
sides, I  should  have  fare  from  Tacoma  to  San  Fran- 
cisco to  pay,  and  hotel  bills.  Then,  too,  my  pocket- 
book,  with  money,  tickets,  and  everything,  has  gone 
off  on  that  train.  I  thought  I'd  be  extra  careful, 
and  so  locked  it  up  in  my  suit-case  before  starting 
out  to  walk." 

"I  hope  you  still  have  the  key,"  said  Captain 
Astley,  seriously,  but  with  a  twinkle  in  his  gray 
eyes. 

"Yes,  sir;  I've  got  that.  I  don't  see,  though, 
how  it  is  going  to  do  me  much  good,  seeing  that  I 


ACCEPT    A    KINDNESS    AND    PASS    IT    ALONG        91 

haven't  money  enough  to  take  me  even  to  Tacoma. 
There's  another  thing  I've  just  thought  of.  My 
trunk  is  checked  through  to  Nagasaki  by  the  Orien- 
tal; and  as  my  suit-case  has  the  same  name  on  it, 
probably  some  one  will  be  kind  enough  to  put  it  on 
board  the  steamer.  So  there  isn't  much  chance  that 
I  shall  ever  see  it  again." 

"Oh,  I  guess  there  is,  provided  the  telegraph  still 
is  in  order,  and  I  know  it  was  working  a  few  minutes 
ago." 

"I  haven't  even  money  enough  to  pay  for  a  tele- 
gram," objected  Rob. 

"So  it  is  doubly  fortunate  that  I  happen  to  have 
a  few  pennies  left  over  from  my  last  month's  pay," 
laughed  the  captain. 

"  But  I  am  a  stranger  to  you,  sir,  and  you  don't 
know  that  I  am  honest  enough  to  repay  you,  even 
if  I  ever  get  my  money  back,"  objected  Rob,  flush- 
ing with  the  embarrassment  that  money  troubles 
always  cause  those  not  used  to  them. 

"Haven't  you  just  told  me  all  about  yourself?" 
suggested  the  captain,  gravely;  "and  can't  I  read 
'honesty'  written  on  every  feature  of  your  face? 
Besides,  one  must  always  be  willing  to  risk  some- 
think  in  an  investment  from  which  he  hopes  to  gain 
rich  returns  in  the  form  of  self-satisfaction.  So  it's 
all  right,  every  way  you  look  at  it,  and  I  think  we'll 
buy  the  use  of  a  west-bound  wire  for  the  next  half- 
hour  or  so." 

Thus  saying,  Captain  Astley  led  the  way  to  the 
telegraph-office,  into  which  Rob  doubtfully  followed 


92  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

him.  There  the  former  first  persuaded  the  station- 
agent  to  wire  the  conductor  of  the  train  that  had 
brought  our  young  traveller  thus  far,  an  inquiry 
concerning  him  and  his  ticket.  Then  he  wired  the 
Pullman  conductor  to  look  after  Rob's  suit-case  and 
deliver  it  to  the  station-agent  at  Tacoma,  to  be  kept 
by  him  until  called  for  by  Captain  Astley. 

"I  put  it  that  way,"  explained  the  latter,  "be- 
cause the  Tacoma  agent  knows  me,  while  he  doesn't 
know  Robert  Hinckley;  and,  as  we  are  going  on 
together  to-morrow,  it  won't  make  any  difference 
which  of  us  receives  the  bag." 

A  third  despatch  was  sent  to  the  Tacoma  agent 
of  the  steamship  company,  notifying  him  that  un- 
foreseen circumstances  prevented  Mr.  Robert  Hinck- 
ley from  sailing  on  the  Oriental,  requesting  him  to 
hold  over  a  trunk  marked  Hinckley  and  bearing  Na- 
gasaki check  907,  and  asking  him  to  meet  the  follow- 
ing day's  Coast  Limited  at  the  Tacoma  station,  with 
money  to  refund  the  price  of  the  forfeited  ticket. 

"I  don't  know  whether  or  not  he  will  do  that," 
said  Captain  Astley;  "but  perhaps  he  will,  seeing 
that  he  is  pretty  well  acquainted  with  me.  At  any 
rate,  it  is  worth  trying  for.  You  may  send  the  re- 
plies to  these  messages  up  to  the  X  Hotel,"  he  added, 
turning  to  the  operator. 

"But  I  am  not  staying  at  the  X  Hotel,"  objected 
Rob,  remembering  how  very  elegant  and  expensive 
that  establishment  had  looked  when  he  passed  it  a 
half-hour  before.  "I  can't  afford  it." 

"Not  as  my  guest?"  asked  the  army  man. 


ACCEPT    A    KINDNESS    AND    PASS    IT    ALONG        93 

"  I  don't  see  how  you  can  think  of  doing  so  much 
for  me,"  blurted  out  Rob.  "I  never  heard  of  any 
one  being  so  kind  to  a  perfect  stranger." 

"My  dear  lad,  I  once  was  a  boy  myself,  and  con- 
tinually getting  into  scrapes,  from  which  kind  people, 
as  often  as  not  entire  strangers,  helped  me  out.  So 
you  see  I  now  am  only  repaying  a  small  portion  of 
the  debt  I  owe  to  those  who  were  good  to  me.  Be- 
sides, I  am  fond  of  boys,  especially  of  boys  who  be- 
have themselves  as  gentlemen,  and  am  delighted  at 
the  prospect  of  having  one  as  a  travelling  compan- 
ion, even  for  a  short  time.  So  don't  you  fret  any 
more  over  the  incurring  of  obligations;  also,  never 
hesitate  to  accept  whatever  good  thing  is  offered 
you  in  this  life,  for  the  bad  you'll  have  to  accept, 
whether  or  no." 

"All  right,  sir,"  replied  Rob,  smiling  happily,  as 
he  now  could  well  afford  to  do.  "I  will  gratefully 
accept  all  the  kindness  you  offer,  and  pass  it  along 
to  some  other  fellow,  whenever  I  find  one  in  a  trouble 
out  of  which  I  can  help  him." 

"Good!"  laughed  the  captain.  "And  now  that 
we  understand  each  other,  let's  go  up  to  the  hotel 
for  breakfast." 

Owing  to  the  efforts  of  this  Heaven-sent  friend, 
Rob's  troubles,  that  had  seemed  so  overwhelming, 
melted  away  like  frost  before  the  warm  breath  of 
a  cloudless  sun.  While  they  were  at  breakfast,  a 
message  was  received  from  the  train  conductor  that 
Robert  Hinckley,  accidentally  left  behind  at  Helena, 
had  paid  full  first-class  fare  through  to  Tacoma,  and 


94  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

on  the  strength  of  this  the  Helena  agent  provided 
our  lad  with  a  ticket  to  that  point.  The  Pullman 
man  wired  from  Spokane  that  Rob's  baggage  was  in 
his  keeping,  and  would  be  handed  over  at  Tacoma 
according  to  instructions.  They  did  not  hear  from 
the  steamship  agent;  but  on  the  following  day,  when 
our  travellers  reached  Tacoma,  after  crossing  the 
coast  range  by  aid  of  the  superb  Stampede  Tunnel, 
and  having  been  whirled  down  the  western  slope, 
through  the  magnificent  fir  forests  of  Washington, 
they  found  that  gentleman  awaiting  them  at  the 
station.  Here,  also,  they  found  Rob's  trunk  and  his 
suit-case. 

The  steamship  agent  explained  that,  while  he 
could  exchange  an  unused  ticket  for  one  good  by 
the  next  ship  of  the  same  line,  he  was  not  allowed 
to  refund  money  already  paid  for  passage.  "How- 
ever," he  added,  turning  to  Rob  with  a  smile  at  the 
latter's  clouding  face,  "owing  to  the  fact  that  I  was 
notified  in  time,  I  was  able  to  sell  your  room  to  a 
gentleman  who,  finding  all  first-class  accommoda- 
tion engaged,  had  taken  second-class  passage  rather 
than  wait  for  another  steamer.  He,  of  course, 
was  glad  to  pay  the  difference  in  price,  and  so 
I  am  able  to  refund  half  the  cost  of  your  ticket, 
if  you  feel  that  you  cannot  wait  for  our  next 
ship." 

Rob  hesitated,  while  he  made  a  rapid  mental  cal- 
culation. 

"Take  it,"  advised  Captain  Astley,  and  come  with 
me  to  Vancouver  Barracks.  There,  at  least,  we  can 


ACCEPT    A    KINDNESS    AND    PASS    IT    ALONG        95 

save  you  a  hotel  bill  while  you  are  waiting  for  an- 
other steamer." 

So  our  lad  accepted  the  money,  surrendered  his 
steamship  -  ticket,  purchased  another  to  Portland, 
Oregon,  rechecked  his  trunk  to  the  same  point,  and 
a  few  minutes  later  found  himself,  still  in  company 
with  his  army  friend,  speeding  to  the  southward  on 
the  same  train  that  had  brought  them  to  the  coast. 

His  first  act,  after  they  were  again  under  way,  was 
to  refund  the  money  expended  in  his  behalf  for  tele- 
grams and  hotel  expenses  in  Helena.  Much  to  his 
relief,  Captain  Astley  accepted  this  without  demur, 
it  being  one  of  that  officer's  pet  theories  that  no 
gentleman  will  place  another  under  a  pecuniary  ob- 
ligation against  his  wish,  even  to  the  extent  of  a 
five-cent  car-fare. 

In  the  mean  time  the  latter  had  learned  all  that 
was  worth  knowing  of  Rob's  history,  of  course  in- 
cluding his  recent  experiences  in  connection  with 
Chinese  Jo.  When  he  discovered  that  his  young 
companion  could  talk  Chinese,  he  said: 

"I  wish  we  were  to  be  together  long  enough  for 
you  to  teach  me,  as  I  believe  the  time  is  not  far 
distant  when  a  knowledge  of  that  language  will  prove 
a  most  valuable  addition  to  an  army  officer's  mental 
equipment." 

Finally  they  reached  Portland,  where,  before  the 
train  had  stopped,  an  orderly  was  in  the  car  saluting 
and  handing  his  captain  an  official  envelope. 

"  By  Jove!"  exclaimed  the  latter,  as  he  tore  it  open 
and  glanced  rapidly  over  its  contents;  "here's  a  hot 


96  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

shot  from  a  masked  battery,  and  perhaps  it  may 
mean  that  you  and  I  can —  But  never  mind  now. 
We'll  talk  it  over  in  quarters  this  evening.  Orderly, 
get  these  traps  out;  look  after  Mr.  Hinckley's  trunk, 
and  see  that  it  is  sent  over  to  the  barracks  with  the 
rest  of  the  luggage.  You  wait  in  the  ambulance, 
Hinckley,  while  I  get  the  men  started,  and  I'll  rejoin 
you  within  a  few  minutes.  Great  Scott!  but  this, 
surely,  is  great  news!" 


CHAPTER  XII 
FROM    THE    GOLDEN    GATE    TO    THE    PEARL    RIVER 

"I  WONDER  what  that  despatch  can  be  about," 
thought  Rob,  as  he  sat  in  the  comfortable  ambulance 
which,  drawn  by  two  big  army  mules  and  with  its 
curtains  rolled  up,  was  used  as  a  carriage  by  the 
officers  of  the  post.  "He  was  as  excited  as  though 
war  had  been  declared  against  somebody  or  other; 
but  I  haven't  heard  that  we  are  likely  to  go  to  war 
with  any  one.  Perhaps  it's  Indians,  though,  and, 
if  so,  there's  sure  to  be  something  about  it  in  the 
paper." 

Thus  thinking,  Rob  beckoned  to  a  passing  news- 
boy and  bought  a  copy  of  the  Oregonian.  Diligent- 
ly as  he  searched  its  columns,  he  could  not  find  a 
word  about  Indians.  Nor  were  there  any  war  ru- 
mors, and  he  was  more  than  ever  puzzled,  until  his 
eye  lighted  on  the  heading : 

"Battery  Z  ordered  to  the  Philippines." 

Yes,  that  was  it,  and  Rob  began  to  feel  very  lonely 
as  he  read  the  brief  announcement  to  the  effect  that 
Battery  Z  was  to  leave  Vancouver  Barracks  at  once 
for  San  Francisco,  where  the  transport  Logan  was 
already  waiting  to  take  it  on  board. 

"That  knocks  my  chance  of  spending  a  week,  or 
7  97 


98  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

even  part  of  one,  at  the  barracks,"  he  said  to  himself, 
"and  I  did  want  to  so  much.  I  don't  suppose  I 
ought  to  go  over,  even  for  a  night,  because  Captain 
Astley  will  be  too  busy  to  bother  with  me.  It  looks 
as  if  he  had  already  forgotten  me,  for  I  must  have 
waited  here  an  hour,  and  I  shouldn't  blame  him  if 
he  had." 

Just  here  Rob's  sombre  reflections  were  inter- 
rupted by  the  cheery  voice  of  Captain  Astley,  who 
sprang  into  the  ambulance  from  the  opposite  side 
and  ordered  that  it  move  on. 

"Hello,  Hinckley!"  he  cried.  "I  beg  your  par- 
don for  leaving  you  so  long,  but  I  have  been  rushed 
breathless  by  most  unexpected  orders  that  have 
completely  upset  all  previously  arranged  plans." 

"Then  you  really  are  going  to  Manila?"  asked 
Rob. 

"How  did  you  know?  Oh!  it's  already  in  the 
paper,  is  it?  Yes,  and  we've  got  to  move  out  of 
here  in  a  hurry — to-morrow,  if  we  can,  or  the  next 
day  at  the  latest.  So  I've  been  arranging  about 
trains  and  a  lot  of  things  that  had  to  be  looked  after 
on  this  side  of  the  river.  But,  before  I  forget  to 
mention  it,  how  would  you  like  to  go  along  with  us?" 

"I!"  cried  Rob,  too  surprised  to  answer  the  ques- 
tion. 

"Yes,  you.  I  wired  to  the  Presidio  for  permission 
to  take  with  me  Robert  Hinckley,  our  Chinese  in- 
structor, and  it  is  granted,  provided  he  pays  his  own 
mess  bills.  They  will  come  to  something  less  than 
two  dollars  per  day  during  the  voyage  from  San 


FROM  THE  GOLDEN  GATE  TO  THE  PEARL  RIVER  99 

Francisco  to  Manila.  From  there  it  is  only  a  couple 
of  days'  run  over  to  Hong-Kong;  and  by  going  with 
us  you  can  beat  that  Tacoma  ship  by  at  least  a  week. 
Besides,  you  won't  have  any  fare  to  pay  between 
here  and  San  Francisco.  What  do  you  think?  Is 
it  a  go,  and  may  we  count  on  you  as  a  fellow-pas- 
senger aboard  the  good  old  Logan?" 

"I  should  say  you  could!"  cried  Rob,  even  more 
excited  than  the  captain  himself.  "I  never  heard 
of  such  a  piece  of  undeserved  good-luck.  Of  course, 
I'll  go  with  you,  and  feel  everlastingly  obliged  to 
you  for  the  chance,  besides.  Only,  I  don't  know 
how  I  ever  can  repay  such  kindness." 

"Nonsense!"  exclaimed  the  other.  "I  thought 
we  finally  had  settled  that  question  away  back  in 
Montana.  But  here  we  are,  and  for  the  next  few 
days  you'll  have  enough  to  do  to  knock  all  thoughts 
of  gratitude  out  of  your  head,  for  I  am  going  to  ap- 
point you  my  A.  D.  C.  Perhaps  you  don't  know 
what  that  is,  so  I'll  tell  you.  An  A.  D.  C.  is  a  chap 
who,  in  active  service  like  the  present,  has  to  work 
twenty-five  hours  out  of  the  twenty-four,  and  gets 
no  thanks  for  anything  he  does.  Do  you  want  the 
job?" 

"Yes,"  replied  Rob,  happily,  "and  I'd  take  it  if 
it  were  twice  as  hard." 

So  our  lad  joined  the  army,  and  for  the  next  two 
days,  from  early  morning  until  late  at  night,  he  was 
about  as  busy  as  a  boy  well  could  be  —  helping  the 
captain  pack,  writing  his  letters,  running  hither  and 
thither  with  orders,  and  doing  whatever  was  given 


100  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

him  to  do,  with  a  cheerful  promptness  that  won  for 
him  the  good-will  of  all  hands. 

At  the  end  of  that  time  he  found  himself  in  com- 
pany with  a  number  of  officers  occupying  the  rear 
car  of  a  long  troop-train  on  which  was  loaded  Bat- 
tery Z — men,  horses,  guns,  and  all — headed  south- 
ward, up  the  broad  Willamette  Valley,  and  starting 
on  their  thirty-six-hour  run  towards  the  city  of  the 
Golden  Gate.  On  the  following  day  they  skirted 
for  hours  the  base  of  grand  old  Shasta,  one  of  the 
mightiest  and  most  beautiful  of  American  moun- 
tains. Then  they  ran  down  the  exquisite  valley  of 
the  Sacramento,  which  they/ first  saw  as  a  brook 
and  at  last  crossed  as  a  mighty  river  pouring  a  tur- 
bid flood  into  San  Pablo  Bay.  A  little  later  came 
San  Francisco,  with  the  bustle  and  anxious  excite- 
ment of  debarking,  marching  through  the  city,  and 
re-embarking,  this  time  on  the  great,  white  trans- 
port that  was  to  bear  them  away  in  the  track  of 
the  setting  sun,  across  seven  thousand  miles  of  Pa- 
cific waters. 

In  all  this  time  Rob,  while  fully  intending  to 
write  to  Hatton  concerning  his  adventures  and 
change  of  plans,  had  not  found  a  minute  when  it 
seemed  possible  to  do  so.  Not  until  the  Logan,  with 
her  crowded  passenger-list,  including  civil  officials, 
military  officers,  troops,  government  school-teach- 
ers and  other  employe's,  and  her  vast  miscellaneous 
cargo  of  live-stock,  guns,  ammunition,  machinery, 
and  stores  of  every  description,  had  got  so  far  out 
to  sea  that  the  Farallones  were  only  a  blur  on  the 


FROM  THE  GOLDEN  GATE  TO  THE  PEARL  RIVER  IOI 

horizon  behind  her  did  it  occur  to  him  that  he  had 
neglected  his  last  opportunity  for  sending  back  a 
message  until  he  should  reach  the  distant  Hawaiian 
Islands.  Then  he  sat  down  and  wrote  a  long  letter 
that  he  was  able  to  mail  eight  days  later  at  Hono- 
lulu, but  which  did  not  reach  Hatton  until  a  full 
month  from  the  date  of  his  departure.  In  the  mean 
time  Mr.  Hinckley  had  cabled  to  China  that  Rob 
would  sail  by  the  Oriental  from  Tacoma  on  a  certain 
date,  and  when  finally  he  learned  of  his  nephew's 
changed  plans,  it  did  not  seem  worth  while  to  cable 
again,  as  the  lad  was  already  due  to  arrive  at  Hong- 
Kong,  and  so  could  tell  his  own  story. 

Rob  enjoyed  every  minute  of  his  twenty  -  four 
hours'  stay  in  beautiful  Honolulu.  He  was  enchant- 
ed by  its  wealth  of  strange  flowers,  its  tropical  foli- 
age, and  by  the  many  new  fruits  that  he  now  tasted 
for  the  first  time.  He  drove  out  to  the  Pali,  the 
frightful  mountain  precipice,  five  miles  back  from  the 
city,  over  which,  in  the  old  savage  days,  King  Kame- 
hameha  I.  drove  to  their- deaths  an  army  of  his  ene- 
mies. He  experimented  with  surf-riding  on  a  slen- 
der board  at  Waikiki  beach,  ate  poi,  which  he  didn't 
like,  and  enjoyed  poha  jam.  He  wanted  to  climb 
Diamond  Head  and  to  visit  the  great  sugar  plan- 
tations of  Ewa  and  Waialua;  also  he  would  dearly 
have  loved  to  sail  to  the  island  of  Hawaii,  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  miles  away,  and  gaze  upon  the  mighty 
volcanoes  of  Kilauea  and  Mauna  Loa;  but  there 
was  not  time,  and  all  these  had  to  be  left  for  an- 
other visit. 


102  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

The  next  chance  for  going  ashore  came  two  weeks 
later,  when  the  Logan  stopped  for  a  few  hours  at 
the  lonely  but  lovely  island  of  Guam,  destined  a  few 
years  later  to  become  a  most  important  way-station 
of  the  American  Pacific  cable.  After  Guam  came 
five  days  more  of  uneventful  sailing,  and  then  Manila 
Bay,  with  Corregidor  Island  standing  sentry  at  its 
entrance. 

"I  wonder  what  Corregidor  means?"  asked  Rob 
of  Captain  Astley,  as  they  stood  together  gazing  at 
this  outpost,  from  which  the  first  warning  gun  had 
been  fired  when  Dewey's  fleet  slipped  through  the 
gray  of  dawn  into  Manila  Bay. 

"Some  one  told  me,"  replied  the  army  man,  "that 
in  olden  times  every  Spanish  city  was  governed  by 
a  regidor,  assisted  by  councilmen,  one  from  each 
division,  or  ward,  called  corregidors.  So  if  we  were 
to  Americanize  the  name  we  would  call  it '  Alderman 
Island.' " 

"Or  'City  Father  Island,"'  laughed  Rob. 

It  was  intensely  interesting  to  sail  up  that  broad, 
mountain-bordered  expanse  of  water,  and  recall  the 
stirring  events  of  May-day,  1898,  when  Dewey  and 
his  men  did  the  same  thing,  only  with  the  terrible 
difference  that  at  any  moment  they  were  liable  to 
run  into  a  deadly  nest  of  torpedoes.  As  they  ap- 
proached the  head  of  the  bay  they  saw  Cavite"  on  the 
right ;  then  the  shipping  anchored  in  the  roadstead ; 
and  then  Manila  itself  lying  on  both  sides  of  the  slug- 
gish Pasig,  the  old  walled  city  on  the  right  and  the 
more  modern  town  on  the  left  as  they  faced  them. 


FROM  THE  GOLDEN  GATE  TO  THE  PEARL  RIVER  103 

At  Manila,  Rob  sorrowfully  parted  with  the  com- 
rade whom  he  first  had  met  in  far-away  Montana, 
and  who  ever  since  had  been  at  once  dear  friend, 
guide,  instructor,  and  pupil;  for  a  steamer,  on  which 
he  promptly  engaged  passage,  left  for  Hong-Kong 
the  day  after  the  Logan's  arrival. 

During  the  month  they  had  spent  together  Cap- 
tain Astley  had  so  assiduously  devoted  himself  to 
the  study  of  Chinese  that  now  he  possessed  a  fair 
working  knowledge  of  the  Southern  or  Canton  dia- 
lect, while  every  man  in  the  battery,  thanks  to  Rob, 
could  express  himself  with  a  certain  fluency  in  pidgin 
(business)  English.  All  of  them  were  on  hand  to 
see  their  young  instructor  off,  and  as  the  launch 
that  was  to  carry  him  to  his  new  steamer  backed 
out  from  the  crowded  landing,  their  farewell  cheers 
reminded  him  of  Hatton,  and  he  felt  quite  as  lonely 
as  he  had  on  that  first  day  of  his  eventful  journey. 
Now,  too,  that  he  no  longer  had  friends  and  regular 
duties  to  divert  his  mind,  and  with  China  only  two 
days'  sail  away,  all  his  anxiety  concerning  his  parents 
came  back  with  redoubled  force.  Would  he  find 
himself  fatherless? — or  would  the  dear  face  still  be 
there  with  its  smiling  welcome?  So  impatient  was 
he  that  the  two  days  between  Manila  and  Hong- 
Kong  seemed  as  long  as  any  previous  two  weeks  of 
his  journey,  and  he  found  himself  straining  his  eyes 
for  a  glimpse  of  the  China  coast  hours  before  there 
was  any  possibility  of  sighting  it. 

Finally,  a  number  of  high,   rock-bound  islands 
came  into  view.     Then  the  ship,  passing  through  a 


IO4  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

narrow  entrance  between  two  of  them,  threaded  a 
tortuous,  strongly  fortified  channel  that  opened 
into  the  broad,  splendid  harbor  of  Hong-Kong.  On 
the  right  was  the  recently  acquired  British  territory 
and  new  settlement  of  Kowloon,  with  wharves,  dry- 
docks,  godowns,  and  barracks.  On  the  left  rose 
Hong-Kong  island,  with  the  fine  city  of  Victoria 
nestled  at  the  base  of  a  peak  eighteen  hundred  feet 
high  and  climbing  its  wooded  slopes.  The  moment 
the  ship  dropped  anchor  amid  a  fleet  of  great  mer- 
chant steamers  and  men-of-war  flying  the  flags  of 
all  the  maritime  nations  of  the  world,  Rob  signalled 
one  of  the  innumerable  sampans,  "manned"  by 
Chinese  women,  that  swarmed  alongside.  He  al- 
ready had  learned  that  a  Pearl  River  steamer  would 
leave  for  Canton  within  an  hour,  and  so  anxious 
was  he  to  reach  his  destination,  which  still  lay  some 
two  hundred  miles  beyond  that  city,  that  he  was  de- 
termined to  go  on  by  the  very  first  conveyance.  For 
this  reason  he  had  his  trunk  and  himself  taken  by 
the  sampan  directly  from  one  steamer  to  the  other, 
and  in  a  short  time,  without  having  gone  ashore  at 
Hong-Kong,  he  found  himself  again  under  way,  on 
board  the  side-wheeled,  American-modelled  steamer 
Fatshan,  bound  for  Canton,  eighty  miles  distant. 

As  Rob  sat  on  deck  watching  with  fascinated  in- 
terest the  queer-looking  junks  with  lofty  poops,  low 
prows,  and  sails  of  matting,  the  sampans,  Chinese 
guard-boats,  and  numberless  other  quaint  craft  slip- 
ping to  and  fro  over  those  placid  inland  waters,  with 
sails  outlined  against  the  dark  background  of  the 


FROM  THE  GOLDEN  GATE  TO  THE  PEARL  RIVER  105 

Tai-Mo-Shan  Mountains,  a  stranger  sitting  near  him 
remarked : 

"Beautiful,  isn't  it?" 

"Yes,"  replied  Rob,  promptly.  "I  don't  believe 
there  can  be  a  more  fascinating  river-scene  in  all  the 
world." 

From  this  the  two  easily  drifted  into  conversation ; 
and  at  length  the  stranger,  who  proved  to  be  a  busi- 
ness-man from  Amoy,  said: 

"New  to  this  part  of  the  world,  aren't  you?" 

"Yes,"  replied  Rob;  "it  all  is  new  to  me  now, 
though  I  was  born  here;  but  my  parents  took  me 
away  nearly  fourteen  years  ago." 

"Indeed!    May  I  ask  where  you  were  born?" 

"Wu  Hsing,  up  on  the  Si  Kiang." 

' '  You  don't  mean  the  place  where  the  missionaries 
were  killed  the  other  day?" 

"Missionaries  killed!"  repeated  Rob,  mechani- 
cally, and  with  blanching  cheeks.  "How  were  they 
killed?  How  many?  What  were  their  names?" 

"Killed by  a  mob  of  natives,  as  usual ;  but  the  city 
tao-tai  and  fifteen  of  the  ringleaders  were  executed 
yesterday  in  Canton,  so  everything  is  quiet  up  there 
now.  Their  names  ?  Why,  I  don't  seem  to  remember ; 
but  all  who  were  at  the  station  were  killed.  Nobody 
escaped.  Of  course,  none  of  your  friends  were  there, 
though,  seeing  that  you  moved  away  so  long  ago." 

"My  father  and  mother  were  there,"  groaned  poor 
Rob.  And  for  him  the  light  of  life  seemed  to  go  out 
with  the  setting  sun  that  just  then  sank  from  sight 
in  the  blood-red  waters  of  the  Dragon's  Mouth. 


CHAPTER  XIII 
IN  THE  WORLD'S  MOST  MARVELLOUS  CITY 

STUNNED  by  the  terrible  news  he  had  just  heard, 
Rob  sat  silent,  trying  to  think  of  all  that  it  meant 
to  him,  while  his  new  acquaintance,  shocked  at  the 
unexpected  result  of  his  chance  remark,  tried  in 
vain  to  console  him.  It  might  not  be  so  bad  as  re- 
ported, he  said,  for  such  things  always  were  exag- 
gerated. Probably,  Rob  would  find  that  his  parents 
had  escaped  and  were  safe  in  Canton.  Perhaps  the 
massacre  had  extended  only  to  native  Christians, 
as  often  was  the  case;  or,  it  was  more  than  likely 
that  the  Hinckleys  had  been  warned  of  the  outbreak 
in  time  to  leave  Wu  Hsing  before  it  took  place. 

"They  couldn't  leave,"  answered  Rob,  "for  my 
father  was  too  ill  to  travel."  Then,  wishing  to  be 
alone  with  his  great  sorrow,  the  lad  abruptly  rose 
and  went  to  his  state-room,  which  he  did  not  again 
leave  that  night. 

As  it  was  not  advisable  for  the  steamer  to  reach 
Canton  before  sunrise,  she  stopped  about  ten  o'clock 
and  remained  at  anchor  until  daybreak,  when  she 
again  was  got  under  way.  An  hour  later  Rob  was 
wakened  from  a  troubled  dream  of  fighting,  killing, 
and,  burning  by  such  a  confusion  of  yells,  splashings, 

106 


IN    THE   WORLD  S    MOST    MARVELLOUS    CITY     107 

and  other  strange  sounds  that  he  rushed  out  on 
deck  with  the  idea  that  his  dream  had  become  a 
reality.  Once  in  the  open  he  gazed  upon  a  scene 
unique  and  unparalleled.  The  steamer  was  slowly 
making  her  way  against  the  swift  current  of  a  turbid 
river,  along  the  water-front  of  the  most  marvellous 
city  in  all  the  world.  She  was  moving  amid  a  vast 
collection  of  floating  craft,  from  fine,  English-built 
Chinese  war  -  ships  and  foreign  gun  -  boats  down 
through  junks  of  all  sizes,  stern-wheel  "kick-boats" 
propelled  by  man -power,  gorgeous  mandarin-boats 
gay  with  fluttering  flags,  house-boats,  flower-boats — 
which  are  floating  palaces  in  which  men  of  wealth 
give  expensive  dinners — silk-boats,  rice-boats,  and 
produce-barges  from  up-river;  fishing-boats,  duck- 
boats,  long,  slender  —  paddling  -  canoes  known  as 
snake  -  boats,  besides  thousands  of  sampans  and 
slipper-boats,  that  ply  for  hire  in  any  capacity,  and 
on  which  half  a  million  of  people  are  born,  live,  and 
die,  in  many  cases  without  ever  setting  foot  on  land. 
So  poor  are  these  sampan  dwellers,  and  so  greatly 
is  the  supply  of  their  labor  in  excess  of  the  demand 
for  it,  that  they  struggle  with  one  another  for  the 
chance  of  making  even  a  single  "cash,"  which  is 
valued  at  one-tenth  of  a  penny.  In  the  present 
instance  scores  of  sampans,  propelled  by  sweeps  or 
sculling-oars,  were  racing  towards  the  Fatshan,  their 
occupants  screaming,  gesticulating,  firing  off  crack- 
ers, and  beating  gongs  to  attract  the  attention  of 
her  passengers.  All  these  craft  looked  exactly  alike, 
and  were  about  twenty-five  feet  long  by  eight  feet 


108  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

wide.  Each  had  a  small,  open  deck  forward,  on 
which  a  man,  standing  and  facing  the  bow,  rowed 
with  a  pair  of  sweeps.  There  was  an  arch-roofed 
house  amidships,  and  aft  of  it  a  covered  deck  occu- 
pied by  a  woman,  who  worked  a  long  sculling-oar, 
by  means  of  which  she  both  steered  and  propelled 
the  light  craft.  Not  one  of  these  boats  was  painted, 
but  all  were  colored  alike  with  pungent  smelling 
Ning-Po  varnish. 

From  every  sampan  peered  round-faced,  solemn- 
eyed  children,  boys  .and  girls,  all  wearing  pig-tails 
and  dressed  alike,  and  looking  alike,  except  that 
the  smaller  boys  generally  had  bladders,  squares  of 
cork,  or  billets  of  a  light  wood  fastened  to  their 
shoulders  to  keep  them  afloat  in  case  they  fell  over- 
board. The  girls  were  held  to  be  of  so  much  less 
value  that  for  them  life-preservers  were  not  thought 
of.  Whenever  these  children  were  more  than  four 
or  five  years  old  they  helped,  or  attempted  to  help, 
their  parents  with  the  oars,  while  those  of  younger 
age  took  care  of  the  babies. 

In  the  rush  towards  the  steamer  of  these  queer- 
looking  and  queerly  manned  craft  they  were  in  con- 
stant collision,  smashing  recklessly  together,  appar- 
ently striving  to  overturn  one  another,  or  to  push 
their  rivals  out  of  the  way.  If  one  succeeded  in 
making  fast,  others  would  hold  on  to  her  until  the 
single  grass-plaited  rope  would  break,  and  all  would 
be  swept  astern  in  the  swift  current,  their  crews 
screaming  and  shaking  fists  at  one  another  as  they 
went. 


IN  THE  WORLD'S  MOST  MARVELLOUS  CITY    109 

It  was  bedlam  and  babel,  sea-fights  and  water- 
sports,  commercial  rivalry  and  insanity,  all  mixed 
into  one  grand  helter-skelter  of  confusion;  and  yet. 
so  far  as  the  interested  spectators  could  note,  no 
one  was  drowned,  nor  even  hurt,  though,  apparently, 
no  one  would  have  cared  a  snap  if  every  one  else  had 
come  to  serious  grief. 

The  Chinese  passengers  from  the  lower  deck  of  the 
Fatshan  swarmed  into  such  sampans  as  succeeded 
in  making  fast,  their  queer-looking  luggage,  done  up 
in  matting,  was  pitched  after  them,  and  away  they 
went  as  though  each  second  was  too  precious  to  be 
wasted.  Such  of  the  foreign  passengers  as  were 
tourists  or  globe-trotters,  visiting  Canton  out  of 
curiosity,  were  engaging  guides  to  show  them  the 
sights  of  the  wonderful  city,  and  arranging  for 
sedan-chairs,  in  which  they  were  to  be  borne  on  the 
shoulders  of  coolies  through  its  endless  miles  of 
swarming  streets. 

There  are  no  wheeled  vehicles  in  these  granite- 
paved  thoroughfares,  and  no  beasts  of  burden,  for 
the  broadest  and  most  important  street  of  Canton 
is  but  eight  feet  wide,  while  in  most  of  them  a  tall 
man  standing  in  the  middle  may  touch  the  houses 
on  either  side  with  his  extended  finger-tips.  From 
these  threadlike  passages,  packed  with  blue-clad, 
yellow-visaged  humanity,  and  reeking  with  filth, 
open  the  narrow  portals  of  shops  whose  contents 
would  dazzle  an  Aladdin.  Each  dim  doorway  is 
barred  against  the  entrance  by  a  tiny  altar,  from 
which  ascends,  never-endingly.the  incense  of  smoul- 


110  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

dering  joss-sticks;  but  once  the  uninviting  entrance 
has  been  passed,  the  visitor  finds  himself  in  another 
world. 

The  interior  is  scrupulously  clean,  and  its  per- 
fumed atmosphere  is  that  of  quiet  elegance.  He  is 
met  by  smiling  attendants  clad  in  silken  garments 
and  shod  with  noiseless  felt,  who  bow  profoundly 
before  him,  at  the  same  time  cordially  shaking  their 
own  hands  in  token  of  welcome.  They  invite  him 
to  be  seated  in  wonderfully  carved  chairs,  lined  with 
silken  cushions,  and  darkly  lustrous  with  the  polish 
of  ages.  Tiny  tables  of  marvellous  inlay  are  set  be- 
fore him,  and  from  them  he  is  invited  to  drink  of 
amber  -  colored  tea  served  in  egg-shell  porcelain. 
Afterwards  the  hidden  wealth  of  the  establishment 
is  brought  forth,  piece  by  piece,  for  his  inspection, 
and  it  is  intimated  that  these  things  are  for  sale, 
though  he  never  is  urged  to  purchase. 

Or  he  is  conducted  from  room  to  room,  lighted 
from  interior  courts  and  filled  with  the  most  ex- 
quisite specimens  of  human  handiwork  known  to 
the  world.  Here  are  silk  embroideries  of  a  beauty, 
delicacy,  and  texture  not  found  elsewhere,  exqui- 
sitely carved  ivories,  startling  designs,  boldly  exe- 
cuted in  lacquer,  gold,  and  silver,  jade,  crystal, 
and  precious  stones.  Here  are  feather -work  and 
brass-work,  priceless  porcelains  and  cloisonne",  softest 
crepes  and  gossamer  linens,  black  wood  furniture 
graved  with  the  painstaking  skill  that  workmen  of 
the  Western  world  bestow  only  upon  precious  metals. 
All  these  things,  and  an  infinity  of  others  equally 


IN  THE  WORLD'S  MOST  MARVELLOUS  CITY    in 

desirable,  are  passed  in  slow  succession  by  the  deft- 
handed  attendants  before  the  fascinated  gaze  of  the 
foreign  visitor,  until  he  longs  for  the  wealth  of  a 
Croesus,  and  is  only  withheld  from  purchasing  to  the 
full  extent  of  his  means  by  memory  of  the  grim 
customs  officials  who  so  surely  await  his  home- 
coming. 

From  these  places  where  things  are  sold  the  sight- 
seer in  Canton  is  borne  away  to  places  where  things 
are  made,  or  to  temples,  pagodas,  and  execution 
grounds.  Perhaps  he  is  permitted  to  enter  the 
yamen  of  some  wealthy  mandarin,  and,  merely  by 
passing  through  an  enclosing  wall  of  buildings,  finds 
himself  transferred  in  a  minute  from  the  filth  and 
squalor  of  the  narrow  street,  with  its  swarms  of 
jargon-yelling  coolies  and  leprous  beggars,  dimly 
filtered  light  and  overpowering  smells,  into  a  place 
of  sunlight  and  clean  air,  a  fairy-land  of  trees  and 
flowers,  of  singing  birds,  shaded  walks,  and  plashing 
waters,  of  quiet  and  coolness,  strangely  attractive 
architecture— a  place  of  gratified  senses  and  restful 
luxury. 

But  none  of  these  things  was  for  Rob  Hinckley— 
at  least,  not  on  this  occasion,  for  instead  of  being  a 
sensation  -  seeking  tourist  he  merely  was  a  sorrow- 
stricken  lad,  friendless  in  a  great,  pitiless  city,  well- 
nigh  penniless,  and  desperately  uncertain  which  way 
to  move.  He  turned  sick  with  apprehension  as  he 
gazed  from  one  side  of  the  steamer  to  the  bund,  or 
landing-place,  where  gangs  of  half -naked  coolies 
grunted  and  sweated  under  their  burdens  of  freight, 


H2  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

or  from  the  other  to  the  yelling  sampan  crews  ready 
to  fight  for  a  cent's  worth  of  patronage.  To  him 
they  resembled  the  myriad  occupants  of  a  gigantic 
ant-hill,  and  appeared  equally  lacking  in  human 
sympathies. 

Rob  was  faint  from  the  exhaustion  of  his  almost 
sleepless  and  supperless  night,  and  at  length  real- 
izing his  most  pressing  need,  he  sought  breakfast  in 
the  saloon.  From  this  he  returned  to  the  deck  a 
half -hour  later,  refreshed  and  strengthened,  but  still 
as  uncertain  as  ever  regarding  his  next  move.  Then 
all  at  once  his  uncertainty  vanished,  for  the  very 
first  object  that  caught  his  eye  as  he  stepped  outside 
was  that  which  is  most  dear  and  most  beautiful  to 
all  Americans,  especially  when  seen  in  a  foreign 
land — the  flag  of  the  stars  and  stripes.  It  was  at 
some  distance  up  the  river,  blowing  out  strong  and 
free,  high  above  the  only  clump  of  trees  in  view,  and 
besides  it  no  other  flag  was  visible. 

In  Canton,  while  most  of  the  greater  nations  own 
their  legation  buildings,  the  United  States  is  satis- 
fied to  lodge  its  representative  in  rented  quarters. 
To  offset  this  humiliation,  so  far  as  lay  in  his  power, 
the  American  consul-general  had  raised  a  noble  flag- 
staff, so  much  taller  than  those  of  his  neighbors 
that  the  starry  banner  flown  from  its  top  was  the 
most  conspicuous  flag  in  all  Canton.  Now  it  waved 
a  friendly  greeting  to  poor  Rob,  filling  him  with  re- 
newed hope,  and  bidding  him  come  to  it  for  aid  in 
this  time  of  trouble. 

Nor  did  our  lad  hesitate  to  accept  its  invitation; 


IN    THE    WORLDS    MOST    MARVELLOUS    CITY     113 

but,  noting  the  general  direction  to  be  taken,  he 
ran  down  the  gang-plank  and  plunged  boldly  into 
the  seething  mass  of  blue-clad  humanity  thronging 
the  narrow  thoroughfares  of  China's  greatest  city. 
A  little  later,  guided  by  occasional  glimpses  of  the 
flag  as  he  went,  he  had  gained  a  bridge  spanning  a 
canal  that  separates  the  city  proper  from  the  Sha- 
meen,  a  beautiful,  tree  -  shaded  island  on  which 
stand  the  foreign  legations,  dwellings,  and  business 
houses  of  Canton. 

At  the  city  end  of  this  bridge  was  a  barrier  hav- 
ing two  wrought-iron  gates,  one  large  and  one  very 
small.  As  the  latter  stood  hospitably  open,  Rob 
was  about  to  pass  through  it  when  the  Chinese  gate- 
keeper hurriedly  flung  open  the  other,  at  the  same 
time  respectfully  informing  him  that  it  was  reserved 
for  Europeans  (all  white  foreigners  in  China  are 
known  as  Europeans),  while  the  little  gate  was  for 
the  passage  of  such  natives  as  are  allowed  on  the 
Shameen. 

The  incident  was  trifling,  but  it  wonderfully  re- 
stored the  self  -  confidence  of  our  young  American, 
and  as  he  walked  proudly  through  the  big  gate, 
which  was  closed  with  a  slam  behind  him,  he  felt 
quite  ready  to  face  and  defy  the  whole  Chinese 
nation.  Turning  up  a  shaded  and  well-kept  walk 
lined  with  substantial  houses,  each  standing  in  its 
own  grounds,  he  again  sought  for  a  glimpse  of  the 
flag,  but  in  vain,  for  the  foliage  above  which  it  waved 
was  so  thick  as  to  hide  it  from  below.  In  this  di- 
lemma Rob  approached  a  gentleman  who  stood  at 


114  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

a  front  gate,  in  company  with  a  group  of  Chinese, 
with  a  view  of  inquiring  his  direction  to  the  American 
consulate.  As  he  drew  near  he  overheard  the  gentle- 
man, who  looked  like  an  American,  say  loudly,  slow- 
ly, and  very  distinctly: 

"I've  told  you  over  and  over  that  I  don't  under- 
stand one  word  you  say,  and  unless  you  can  speak 
English  there  is  no  use  of  your  trying  to  talk  business 
with  me.  You  wanchee  catch  one  talkee  man — sabe  ? ' ' 

"Perhaps  I  can  help  you,  sir,"  said  Rob,  stepping 
up  at  that  minute.  "I  understand  and  speak  some 
Chinese." 

"If  you  only  can  and  will,  I  shall  be  ever  so  much 
obliged,"  replied  the  American,  "for  I  am  quite  sure 
these  fellows  have  something  important  to  commu- 
nicate. But  I  am  a  new-comer  here,  without  a  word 
of  the  lingo,  and  our  interpreter  has  not  yet  put  in 
an  appearance  this  morning." 

So  Rob  talked  and  interpreted  with  the  result 
that  a  few  minutes  later  the  situation  in  question 
was  fully  understood  by  both  parties,  and  the  Chi- 
nese departed  quite  satisfied. 

" If  I  only  could  talk  it  as  you  do!"  said  the  gentle- 
man, enviously.  "Won't  you  step  inside  for  a  cup 
of  tea?" 

"  No ,  I  thank  you , ' '  replied  Rob .  "I  only  stopped 
to  inquire  my  way  to  the  American  consulate.  I 
want  to  see  the  consul-general  on  most  important 
business." 

"Then  I  am  very  sorry  to  say  that  he  has  gone 
to  Hong-Kong,  and  will  not  return  for  a  week." 


IN    THE    WORLD  S    MOST    MARVELLOUS    Clf-Y     115 

' '  Oh ! ' '  cried  Rob ;  ' '  what  shall  I  do  ?  Perhaps  you 
can  tell  me  something  about  a  reported  massacre  of 
missionaries  at  Wu  Hsing.  Did  it  really  occur?" 

"I  believe  it  did,  though  that  was  before  I  came 
out;  but  I  hope  you  hadn't  any  friends  there." 

"My  father  and  mother  were  there." 

"You  poor  fellow!  That,  indeed,  is  a  bitter  blow. 
May  I  ask  your  name?" 

"It  is  Hinckley." 

"Not  a  son  of  Dr.  Mason  Hinckley?"  inquired  the 
other,  eagerly. 

"Yes." 

"Then  you  needn't  worry  any  more,  for  Dr. 
Hinckley  and  his  wife  left  for  America  just  before 
the  outbreak,  and  are  a  long  way  towards  the  land 
of  safety  by  this  time." 


CHAPTER  XIV 
A  TURN  OF  FORTUNE'S  TIDE 

FOR  a  moment  Rob's  heart  beat  quick  with  joy 
and  his  face  became  radiant;  then  it  clouded  again 
as  he  said,  quietly: 

"I  think  you  must  be  mistaken,  sir;  for  I  received 
a  cablegram  in  America  that  my  father  was  too  ill 
to  travel,  and  longed  to  see  me  before  he  died. 
That  is  the  reason  I  am  now  here." 

"No,"  asserted  the  stranger,  whose  name,  as  Rob 
afterwards  learned,  was  Bishop,  "I  am  confident 
there  can  be  no  mistake,  for  I  saw  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Mason 
Hinckley  in  Hong-Kong.  I  was  newly  arrived,  and 
had  gone  with  an  acquaintance  to  arrange  for  a  lot 
of  stuff  to  be  taken  aboard  the  Canton  boat.  While 
we  were  there,  another  boat  of  the  same  line  came 
in  from  the  upper  Si  Kiang.  She  had  but  two 
European  passengers,  a  lady,  and  her  husband  who 
was  so  weak  from  illness  that  we  assisted  him  to  a 
carriage.  My  friend  knew  them  slightly,  and  after 
they  were  gone  he  told  me  that  they  were  a  mission- 
ary doctor  and  his  wife  from  Wu  Hsing,  that  their 
name  was  Hinckley,  that  the  doctor  had  been  crit- 
ically ill,  but  had  most  unexpectedly  rallied,  so  that 
he  was  able  to  travel,  and  that  they  were  to  leave 

116 


A    TURN    OF    FORTUNES    TIDE  117 

for  the  States  on  the  China,  which  sailed  that  even- 
ing. All  this  was  distinctly  impressed  on  my  mind 
by  the  news  of  the  Wu  Hsing  outbreak,  which  came 
a  week  later,  and  I  was  glad  to  remember  that  two 
at  least  of  the  possible  victims  had  escaped  in 
time." 

Rob  listened  breathlessly  to  these  details,  and, 
when  Mr.  Bishop  finished  speaking,  he  exclaimed: 
"They  are  alive,  then,  and  safe!  If  I  only  had 
known,  and  stayed  quietly  where  I  was!  Do  you 
remember  the  date,  sir,  on  which  you  saw  them  in 
Hong-Kong?" 

"Yes,  it  was  the  loth  of  last  month." 

"The  very  day  on  which  I  was  to  have  sailed 
from  Tacoma,  and  they  must  have  sent  another 
cable  after  I  left  Hatton.  It's  all  right,  though, 
and  I  am  too  glad  to  care  about  anything  else." 

"It  is  too  bad  that  you  have  missed  each  other, 
and  still  are  on  opposite  sides  of  the  world;  but  I 
suppose  you  will  follow  them  by  the  next  homeward- 
bound  steamer,  and  so  rejoin  them  inside  of  another 
six  weeks.  I  envy  you,  and  only  wish  I  had  a  pros- 
pect of  again  seeing  the  States  within  the  same  num- 
ber of  months." 

"I  expect  your  chance  is  several  times  better  than 
mine,"  laughed  Rob,  who  for  the  moment  was  too 
light-hearted  to  give  a  serious  thought  to  his  own 
awkward  predicament.  "I  would  go  quick  enough 
if  I  could,  but  I  haven't  the  money  even  to  pay  my 
fare  to  Hong-Kong.  So  it  looks  as  if  I'd  have  to 
stay  here  until  I  can  earn  the  price  of  a  ticket  back 


Il8  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

to  where  I  have  just  come  from.  Do  you  happen 
to  know  of  any  one  who  could  give  me  a  job?" 

"I  can't  say  at  this  moment,"  replied  Mr.  Bishop, 
regarding  the  lad  keenly  as  he  spoke;  "but  I  may 
think  of  some  one.  Where  are  you  staying?" 

"Nowhere.  I  only  came  on  this  morning's  boat, 
and  my  baggage  still  is  on  board." 

"Then  suppose  you  get  it  up  here  and  stay  with 
me  for  a  day  or  two  while  you  look  around.  I've 
a  big  house,  with  plenty  of  room,  and  shall  be  glad 
of  your  company.  Besides,  I  expect  you  can  help 
me  a  good  deal  with  my  Chinese  studies." 

"All  right,  sir,"  assented  Rob,  promptly  accept- 
ing this  proposition,  "and  I'll  be  back  inside  of  an 
hour." 

With  this  our  lad  hurried  away,  saying  to  himself 
as  he  went :  "  I  believe  I  must  be  one  of  the  luckiest 
fellows  in  the  world,  and  only  a  little  while  ago  I 
thought  I  was  one  of  the  most  miserable.  My  big- 
gest bit  of  luck,  though,  was  having  Jo  come  to  live 
at  Hatton  and  teach  me  Chinese,  for  that  seems 
about  the  most  valuable  accomplishment  a  fellow 
can  have  out  here.  I  do  wonder  what  became  of 
him." 

Rob  crossed  the  canal  bridge,  went  out  through 
the  big  gate,  that  promptly  was  opened  at  his  ap- 
proach, and  turned  down  Heavenly  Clouds  Street 
with  the  assured  air  of  one  who  had  resided  in  Can- 
ton all  his  life.  Then  he  received  a  shock,  and  at 
the  same  time  proved  himself  to  be  one  of  the  very 
newest  of  new  arrivals  in  that  crafty  city  of  poverty- 


A    TURN    OF    FORTUNE  S    TIDE  1 19 

sharpened  wits.  On  a  bit  of  straw  matting,  spread 
above  the  granite  flagging  of  the  narrow  roadway, 
lay  a  child  three  or  four  years  old,  apparently  in  the 
very  grasp  of  death.  Its  eyes  were  closed,  its  pale 
features  were  distorted  as  though  by  a  spasm;  it 
was  gasping  for  breath,  and  its  hands  were  tightly 
clinched,  while  its  poor  little  body  was  only  par- 
tially hidden  beneath  a  bit  of  ragged,  blue  cloth. 
Beside  the  dying  child  knelt  a  mother,  bending  over 
it  and  rocking  her  body  to  and  fro  in  an  agony  of 
grief,  while  tears  streamed  from  her  eyes.  She,  too, 
was  clad  in  rags,  and  evidently  was  in  the  last  ex- 
tremity of  poverty,  since  she  had  not  even  a  kennel 
in  which  to  conceal  her  dying  child  from  the  curious 
gaze  of  the  swarming  street.  No  one  stopped  to 
speak  with  her  or  to  offer  her  the  slightest  aid  in 
this  time  of  her  sore  distress;  and  as  Rob,  with 
swelling  heart,  gazed  on  this  pitiful  picture,  he  said 
to  himself  that  all  Chinese  were  brutes  and  un- 
worthy the  name  of  human  beings. 

"Can't  something  be  done  for  them?"  he  asked  of 
a  passer-by,  and  speaking  in  Chinese;  but  the  man 
only  laughed  and  hurried  on  without  answering. 
Then  Rob  spoke  to  the  woman  herself,  but  her  grief 
was  too  great  to  permit  her  to  take  heed,  and  she 
only  stroked  the  face  of  her  dying  child  with  gestures 
of  despair.  At  this,  feeling  powerless  to  aid  her  by 
any  other  means,  Rob  drew  a  silver  dollar  from  his 
pocket  and  gently  laid  it  on  the  mat  beside  the  lit- 
tle sufferer.  Then  he  hurried  away. 

While  he  was  within  sight  the  woman  did  not 


120  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

alter  her  position  nor  offer  to  pick  up  his  gift.  Only 
when  he  had  disappeared,  and  the  stealthy  hand  of 
a  street  urchin  was  about  to  close  over  the  coveted 
coin,  did  she  snatch  it  from  the  mat,  spring  to  her 
feet,  deal  the  would-be  thief  a  stinging  box  on  the 
ear,  pick  up  her  opium-drugged  child,  and  serenely 
walk  away,  well  satisfied  with  the  success  of  her  care- 
fully planned  tableau.  When  Rob  returned  that 
way  he  wondered  what  had  become  of  the  dying 
child  who  had  so  excited  his  sympathies,  and  it  was 
only  on  the  following  day,  when  he  again  saw  them 
at  the  same  place,  going  through  the  same  per- 
formance, that  he  realized  how  he  had  been  duped. 
On  that  first  morning  he  transferred  his  belongings 
from  the  steamer  to  the  house  of  his  newly  made 
friend,  who  told  him  that,  as  there  was  nothing  in 
particular  for  him  to  do  just  then,  he  was  free  to 
go  where  he  pleased.  So  he  strolled  to  the  river- 
front of  the  Shameen,  where  from  one  of  the  tree- 
shaded  benches,  placed  at  intervals  along  its  length, 
he  watched  the  wonderful  life  of  the  river,  with  its 
swarming  junks  and  sampans.  After  a  while,  at- 
tracted by  a  huge  white-and-yellow  nondescript-ap- 
pearing craft,  moored  in  the  stream  at  some  distance 
above  where  he  sat,  he  walked  in  that  direction  for  a 
closer  view.  He  had  proceeded  but  a  few  steps  when 
he  was  more  than  ever  puzzled  to  note  that  above 
the  object  of  his  curiosity  floated  an  American  flag, 
while  he  also  could  see  the  grim  muzzles  of  enormous 
guns  protruding  from  various  parts  of  its  super- 
structure. It  evidently  was  a  ship  of  some  kind, 


A   TURN    OP    FORTUNE  S    TIDE  121 

and  also  a  man-of-war;  but  to  Rob's  eyes  it  was 
of  even  stranger  appearance  than  the  closely  packed 
acres  of  Chinese  craft  surrounding  it.  He  finally 
decided  that  it  must  be  a  wreck,  resting  on  the  bot- 
tom of  the  river,  since  its  deck  appeared  to  be  but 
a  few  inches  above  the  turbid  waters,  and  he  won- 
dered why  its  crew,  sauntering  back  and  forth  be- 
neath the  awnings,  did  not  exhibit  more  concern. 

While  Rob  thus  was  puzzling,  a  young  man,  wear- 
ing the  uniform  of  an  American  naval  officer,  walked 
briskly  up  to  where  he  was  standing,  and  signalled 
a  sampan. 

"Can  you  tell  me,  sir,"  asked  our  lad,  addressing 
this  officer,  "what  American  ship  that  is  out  there, 
and  how  she  got  wrecked?" 

"Wrecked!"  repeated  the  other.  "What  do  you 
mean  by  wrecked?  She  looks  all  right  to  me.  Is 
anything  the  matter  with  the  old  packet?" 

"Of  course,  I  don't  know  much  about  wrecks," 
replied  Rob,  a  little  nettled  by  the  officer's  tone, 
' '  but  if  a  ship  sunk  to  the  bottom  of  a  Chinese  river, 
nearly  ten  thousand  miles  from  home,  isn't  wrecked, 
then  the  word  must  mean  something  different  from 
what  I  think  it  does." 

"But  she  isn't  sunk.  She's  floating  all  right,  and 
showing  fully  as  much  freeboard  as  she  did  when  we 
brought  her  across  the  Pacific,  nearly  two  years  ago. 
Monitors  always  look  that  way,  you  know." 

"Monitor!  Is  she  a  monitor?"  cried  Rob,  who 
never  before  had  seen  one  of  this  peculiarly  Amer- 
ican type  of  war-ship. 


122  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

"To  be  sure.  She  is  the  United  States  monitor 
Monterey,  one  of  the  finest  of  her  class,  and,  with  the 
exception  of  her  sister-ship,  the  Monadnock,  now  at 
Shanghai,  the  most  powerful  fighting-machine  now 
afloat  in  Asiatic  waters.  Wouldn't  you  like  to  go 
aboard  and  take  a  look  at  her?" 

Of  course,  Rob  gladly  accepted  this  invitation, 
and,  entering  the  sampan  with  Lieutenant  Hibbard, 
was  sculled  out  to  the  floating  fortress,  which  always 
lies  off  Canton,  providing  a  safe-refuge  for  foreigners 
against  a  storm  of  wrath  such  as  sometimes  sweeps 
over  that  turbulent  city.  She  is  at  the  same  time  a 
most  effective  peace-keeper,  since  the  Chinese  know 
as  well  as  any  one  that  her  powerful  guns  could  with- 
in a  few  hours  lay  their  metropolis  in  ruins. 

The  Monterey  is  famous  as  having  been  the  first 
ship  of  her  class  to  cross  the  Pacific  to  Manila,  where 
she  added  such  strength  to  Dewey's  handful  of  war- 
ships as  to  render  his  position  there  impregnable. 

On  gaining  her  side  Rob  found  the  rail  to  be  quite 
two  feet  above  water,  instead  of  only  a  few  inches, 
as  he  had  supposed.  He  also  found  her  to  be  of 
great  breadth  of  beam,  with  wide  sweeps  of  unen- 
cumbered deck,  both  forward  and  aft.  Safely  below 
the  water-line  he  found  roomy,  well-ventilated  quar- 
ters for  officers  and  crew,  as  well  as  ample  engine, 
coal,  and  ammunition  spaces.  He  marvelled  at  her 
huge  guns,  polished  until  they  shone,  mounted  fore 
and  aft  in  steel  turrets  of  a  strength  and  construc- 
tion to  defy  the  most  powerful  of  modern  missiles. 
At  the  same  time,  these  could  be  revolved  at  will, 


A    TURN    OF    FORTUNE  S    TIDE  123 

by  a  mechanism  so  delicate  as  to  be  controlled  by 
a  finger.  Rob  took  tiffin  with  the  officers  of  the 
ward-room  mess,  whom  he  entertained  with  news 
from  the  States  and  from  Manila,  and  when,  late  in 
the  afternoon,  he  again  was  set  on  shore,  he  felt  that 
his  first  day  in  Canton,  in  spite  of  its  clouded  begin- 
ning, had  been  one  of  the  very  happiest  and  most 
interesting  of  his  life. 

That  evening  Mr.  Bishop,  whom  our  lad  regarded 
at  once  as  friend  and  employer,  found  leisure  for  a 
long  conversation  with  him,  during  which  he  said: 

"As  you  probably  know,  one  of  the  most  valuable 
railway  concessions  in  China,  that  for  a  line  from 
this  city  to  Hankow,  on  the  Yang-tse-kiang,  nearly 
a  thousand  miles  due  north  from  here,  has  been 
granted  to  an  American  syndicate.  Another  con- 
cession, for  a  line  from  Hankow  to  Pekin,  was 
granted  a  year  earlier  to  the  Belgians.  These  two 
railways,  meeting  at  the  metropolis  of  Central  China, 
will  form  a  grand  trunk-line,  extending  nearly  two 
thousand  miles  north  and  south  through  the  very 
heart  of  the  empire.  The  Belgians  already  are  at 
work  on  the  construction  of  their  line,  while  the 
Americans  have  made  their  surveys  and  are  ready 
to  begin  construction.  I  am  an  American  engineer, 
employed  by  the  syndicate,  and,  as  a  preliminary 
step  to  my  further  work,  I  am  about  to  undertake 
a  journey  of  investigation  from  here  to  Hankow, 
and,  possibly,  on  to  Pekin.  My  plans  for  this  jour- 
ney are  so  nearly  completed  that  I  could  start  to- 
morrow; but  I  have  not  as  yet  secured  a  satisfac- 


124  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

tory  interpreter.  Will  you  accept  the  position  ?  The 
trip  will  be  long,  and  to  a  certain  extent  dangerous, 
but  the  pay  will,  I  think,  be  sufficient  to  carry  you 
from  Shanghai  to  America  after  our  journey  is  com- 
pleted. What  do  you  say  ?  Are  you  ready  to  plunge 
into  the  heart  of  China,  and  bury  yourself  from  the 
world  for  the  next  two  or  three  months,  or  do  you 
prefer  to  remain  here  and  look  for  some  easier  job?" 


CHAPTER  XV 
IN   THE   HEART   OF    UNKNOWN    CHINA 

THAT  Rob  accepted  Mr.  Bishop's  proposition  goes 
without  saying,  for  he  was  an  American  boy,  and, 
as  such,  was  filled  to  the  brim  with  a  genuine  love  of 
the  adventure  and  excitement  attending  explorations 
in  strange  countries.  Thus,  two  days  after  the  offer 
was  made,  he  found  himself  a  very  important  mem- 
ber of  an  expedition  setting  forth  from  the  great 
southern  city  of  Canton  and  bound  for  the  far  north. 
Two  months  later,  a  junk,  flying  the  American  flag 
and  having  on  board  our  travellers,  drifted  with  the 
tawny  flood  of  the  mighty  Yang-tse-kiang  (Son  of 
the  Sea  River)  along  the  crowded  water-front  of 
Hankow,  a  city  of  such  commercial  energy  that  it 
is  known  as  the  Chicago  of  China. 

During  the  weeks  that  had  elapsed  since  they  left 
the  last  traces  of  Western  civilization  at  Canton, 
they  had  seen  no  white  man  nor  heard  a  word  of 
English,  except  such  as  they  spoke  to  each  other. 
They  had  travelled  by  sampan  up  the  North  River 
and  the  Wu  Shin,  across  the  province  of  Kwang- 
tung,  to  the  head  of  navigation  at  Ping-Shih.  Here 
they  had  engaged  coolies  to  transport  their  luggage, 
camp  outfit,  and  provisions  over  the  "carry,"  thirty 

"5 


126  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

miles  long,  across  the  Nan-Ling  Mountains,  to  Chen- 
Chow,  a  quaint,  old,  walled  town,  marking  the  head 
of  navigation  on  the  Yu-tan  River,  a  branch  of  the 
Sian  Kiang,  which  in  turn  flows  northward  into 
the  Yang-tse.  There  they  had  once  more  chartered 
a  junk;  and,  always  accompanied  by  a  couple  of 
slim,  light-draught  Chinese  guard-boats,  had  sailed, 
poled,  or  drifted  across  the  great  inland  province  of 
Hu-nan,  which  is  half  again  as  large  as  the  State  of 
New  York. 

Although  always  using  their  boat  as  headquar- 
ters and  for  the  transportation  of  supplies,  the  two 
Americans  had  travelled  most  of  the  way  by  land, 
on  foot,  on  pony-back,  or  in  sedan-chairs  borne  by 
coolies.  They  had  slept  in  temples,  examination- 
halls,  tea  hongs  (warehouses),  in  official  yamens,  and 
occasionally,  but  never  when  they  could  help  it,  in 
crowded,  vermin-infested  taverns,  always  surround- 
ed by  throngs  of  excited  spectators,  who  poked  holes 
through  the  paper  windows  or  widened  cracks  in  the 
floors  of  overhead  rooms  to  gratify  their  curiosity  by 
peering  at  the  ridiculous-looking  barbarians. 

While  crossing  the  Nan-Ling  Mountains  they  had 
traversed  a  portion  of  one  of  China's  great  national 
highways,  constructed  thousands  of  years  ago,  and 
apparently  never  since  repaired.  Originally  fifteen 
feet  of  its  width  was  paved  with  large,  flat  stones, 
four  feet  square,  and  from  one  foot  to  eighteen 
inches  thick.  Many  of  these  stones  had  disappeared, 
no  one  could  tell  how,  nor  where  to,  leaving  gaping 
and  bottomless  mud-holes  to  entrap  the  unwary. 


IN    THE    HEART    OF    UNKNOWN    CHINA  127 

The  remaining  blocks  were  deeply  hollowed  by  the 
bare  feet  of  millions  of  burden-bearing  coolies  and 
scored  with  wheelbarrow  grooves.  This  great  high- 
way was  formerly  lined  along  its  hundreds  of  miles 
of  length  with  temples,  tea-houses,  rest-houses,  and 
shops;  but  such  of  these  as  have  not  disappeared 
are  now  in  ruins,  and  serve  only  as  haunts  for  high- 
waymen, lepers,  and  beggars. 

In  the  remote  past  the  several  states  or  provinces 
of  China  were  independent  kingdoms,  waging  war 
upon  one  another;  and  even  to  this  day  the  inhabi- 
tants of  each  province  regard  the  people  of  those 
adjoining  as  "foreigners."  So  they  fortified  them- 
selves against  one  another,  and  our  explorers  were  so 
fortunate  as  to  come  across  one  of  these  fortifications. 
It  was  a  high  and  very  thick  wall  of  masonry,  hav- 
ing battlements  and  massive  gateway,  surmounted 
by  a  watch-tower,  built  on  a  boundary-line  across 
the  highway,  where  the  latter  occupied  a  narrow 
valley.  The  hills  on  either  hand  were  low  enough 
to  be  easy  of  ascent,  but  the  impregnable  wall 
reached  only  from  side  to  side  of  the  valley. 

"What's  the  matter  with  walking  around  an  end 
of  it?"  asked  Rob,  staring  at  this  triumph  of  de- 
fensive architecture. 

"Nothing  at  all,  that  I  can  see,"  replied  the  en- 
gineer. "Only,  I  suppose,  no  Chinese  ever  would 
think  of  doing  so." 

Again  the  road  led  over  a  high,  arched  bridge  that 
once  had  crossed  a  stream;  but  the  stream  had  al- 
tered its  course  and  gone  elsewhere,  perhaps  hun- 


128  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

dreds  of  years  ago,  since  no  trace  even  of  its  bed 
now  remained.  But  because  the  road  went  over 
the  bridge  the  cargo  coolies,  grunting  beneath  their 
burdens,  continued  to  toil  up  the  steep  ascent  and 
down  the  other  side,  without  ever  a  thought  of  mak- 
ing a  new  path  around  it. 

"I  won't  climb  over  it,  at  any  rate,"  declared 
Rob.  So  he  and  the  engineer  walked  around ;  their 
own  coolies  followed  them  like  a  flock  of  sheep,  and 
those  on  the  bridge  stared  in  amazement  at  the  bar- 
barians who  thus  dared  depart  from  established 
custom. 

Although  other  American  engineers  had  preceded 
our  travellers  through  this  country,  the  foreigner 
was  still  such  a  novelty  that  they  were  viewed  by 
thousands  of  people  who  never  before  had  seen  one, 
and  who  crowded  about  them  in  embarrassing 
throngs.  At  the  same  time  they  never  were  ill- 
treated  nor  even  molested;  for  the  Chinese,  unless 
roused  to  a  blind  fury  by  wrongs,  real  or  fancied, 
are  the  most  peaceable  and  courteous  of  people.  To 
be  sure,  our  friends  nearly  always  were  spoken  of 
and  addressed  as  "fan  kwei"  (foreign  devils);  but 
this  was  because  the  natives  never  had  heard  for- 
eigners called  anything  else. 

To  Mr.  Bishop's  surprise  he  discovered,  or  rather 
Rob  discovered  for  him,  that  many  of  the  Hu-nan 
people,  instead  of  being  opposed  to  the  construction 
of  a  railway  through  their  country,  were  desirous 
for  its  coming.  Not  on  account  of  the  facilities  it 
would  offer  for  travel  and  the  transportation  of  their 


IN    THE    HEART    OF    UNKNOWN    CHINA  129 

products,  but  because  it  was  rumored  far  and  wide 
that  it  would  pay  liberally  for  such  graves  as  must 
be  removed  from  its  right-of-way.  Formerly,  and 
even  now  in  certain  districts,  the  grave  problem  was, 
and  is,  one  of  the  most  serious  encountered  by  the 
projectors  of  Chinese  railways.  Finally  it  was  made 
a  commercial  proposition,  and  the  railway  companies 
agreed  to  pay  for  such  graves  as  came  within  their 
lines  at  a  rate  of  eight  taels  (about  eleven  dollars) 
apiece.  Now,  such  of  the  Chinese  as  understand  this 
arrangement  are  more  than  willing  thus  to  turn  their 
ancestors  to  profitable  account. 

As  the  dead  are  not  collected  in  regularly  estab- 
lished burying-grounds,  but  are  scattered  about  in 
fields,  gardens,  or  wherever  it  is  most  convenient  to 
place  them,  and  as  the  entire  country  is  thickly  sown 
with  these  precious  relics,  no  line  can  be  so  run  as 
to  avoid  them.  Consequently  they  must  be  bought 
up  and  removed.  For  some  time  Rob  could  not 
account  for  the  great  anxiety  shown  by  the  natives 
to  learn  the  exact  location  of  the  line.  Finally, 
however,  he  discovered  that  those  persons  having 
graves  known  to  be  on  the  line  could  raise  money  on 
them  in  advance,  while  such  as  had  none  proposed 
to  borrow  or  purchase  a  few  ancestors  at  places  so 
remote  as  to  be  beyond  a  possibility  of  disturbance 
and  rebury  them  in  more  profitable  locations. 

In  the  cities  of  Siang-tan  and  Chang-sha,  both 
on  waters  navigable  by  large  Yang-tse  junks,  our 
travellers  found  shops  equipped  with  foreign  goods, 
and  notably  with  American  flour,  prints,  and  canned 

9 


130  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

foods,  though  they  did  not  meet  an  American  nor  a 
European  in  either  place.  This  discovery  was  of  par- 
ticular interest  to  Mr.  Bishop,  as  the  appearance  in 
those  remote  localities,  and  under  existing  conditions, 
of  these  goods  promised  a  vast  extension  of  similar 
trade  upon  completion  of  the  railway  he  was  about 
to  build. 

Thus  the  entire  trip  had  proved  intensely  inter- 
esting, and  its  results  were  so  highly  satisfactory 
that,  as  it  drew  to  a  close  with  their  near  approach 
to  Hankow,  our  explorers  already  were  preparing 
for  another  journey  from  that  point  to  Pekin. 

Much  as  they  had  enjoyed  the  one  just  ending, 
they  were  not  sorry  to  see  European  buildings  in 
the  mission  compounds  and  along  the  bund  at  Han- 
kow, and  it  was  good  to  hear  their  own  speech 
once  more.  It  also  was  good  to  sit  down  to  an 
American  table,  eat  home-cooked  food,  and,  above 
all,  to  sleep  between  sheets  in  American  beds.  But 
with  all  these  things  to  be  enjoyed  came  two  disap- 
pointments. Rob's  lay  in  the  entire  absence  of  the 
letters  that  he  had  hoped  to  find  awaiting  him  at 
this  point.  From  Canton  he  had  written  both  to 
his  uncle  and  his  parents  at  Hatton,  requesting 
answers  to  be  sent  to  Hankow,  but  the  eagerly 
expected  letters  had  not  appeared.  A  number 
awaited  Mr.  Bishop,  and  in  them  lay  his  disap- 
pointment, for  certain  of  them  contained  news  that 
rendered  it  necessary  for  him  to  return  at  once  to 
Canton.  Thus  he  must  give  up  the  proposed  over- 
land journey  to  Pekin. 


IN    THE    HEART    OF    UNKNOWN    CHINA  131 

"It  is  too  bad!"  he  exclaimed.  "There  is  so 
much  I  want  to  find  out  about  that  northern  line, 
its  construction,  the  nature  of  the  country  it  trav- 
erses, the  feeling  of  the  people  regarding  it,  and  a 
dozen  other  things.  Now  I  must  indefinitely  post- 
pone the  trip,  and  so  remain  in  ignorance  of  many 
things  most  important  for  me  to  know." 

"I  wish  I  could  go  for  you,"  suggested  Rob. 

"That  is  an  idea  worth  considering!"  exclaimed 
the  engineer.  "And  I  don't  see  why  you  shouldn't 
collect  the  very  information  I  want.  You  are  pretty 
well  broken  into  the  work  by  this  time.  But  would 
you  dare  travel  another  thousand  miles  through 
China,  alone,  and  in  view  of  the  rumors  of  trouble 
that  we  have  been  hearing  lately?" 

"  Of  course  I  would,"  replied  Rob,  scornfully.  "  I 
can't  see  but  what  it  is  just  as  safe  to  travel  here  as 
in  any  other  country,  especially  when  one  knows  the 
ways  of  the  people  and  their  language  as  well  as  I  do." 

The  conversation  on  this  subject  was  long  and 
earnest,  but  at  its  conclusion  it  had  been  decided 
that  Rob  Hinckley,  provided  with  ample  funds, 
should  travel  as  special  commissioner  of  the  Amer- 
ican railway  syndicate  from  Hankow  to  Pekin. 
From  the  latter  city  he  would  return  by  rail  and  sea 
to  Hong-Kong,  where  Mr.  Bishop  would  meet  him 
and  receive  his  report. 

"By  that  time,"  said  the  latter,  "your  pay  surely 
will  amount  to  enough  to  carry  you  to  America,  with 
a  substantial  surplus  besides." 

The  only  condition  made  by  our  lad  was  that,  upon 


1^2  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

his  arrival  in  Shanghai,  Mr.  Bishop  should  cable  to 
the  States  for  information  concerning  Rob's  parents, 
and  should  transmit  the  same  to  Pekin,  there  to 
await  the  latter 's  arrival. 

A  couple  of  days  later  the  companions  who  had 
travelled  so  far  and  endured  so  much  together  sepa- 
rated, the  engineer  to  proceed  by  steamer  down  the 
Yang-tse-kiang  to  Shanghai,  and  thence  by  ship 
to  Hong-Kong,  and  Rob,  so  confident  in  his  own 
resources  as  not  to  dream  of  dangers  that  he  could 
not  overcome,  taking  train  for  the  north  over  the 
short  section  of  Belgian  railway  already  constructed. 
It  carried  him  to  the  border  of  the  province  of  Ho- 
nan.  Across  this  province  and  to  the  Hoang-ho,  or 
Yellow  River,  he  made  his  way  successfully,  though 
not  without  encountering  many  difficulties  during 
the  following  month.  Then  his  real  troubles  be- 
gan, for  no  sooner  had  he  crossed  the  great  riv- 
er, which,  on  account  of  its  frequent  devastating 
floods,  is  called  "China's  Sorrow,"  than  he  found 
himself  on  the  edge  of  a  fierce  "storm  of  wrath" 
that  threatened  to  sweep  over  the  entire  empire. 

An  almost  unprecedented  drought  had  prevailed 
over  the  whole  of  the  vast  plain  of  northern  China 
for  nearly  three  years.  For  two  years  there  had 
been  no  crops,  and  now  the  same  dreadful  con- 
dition was  promised  for  the  third.  Everywhere 
were  starving,  desperate  people,  who,  in  their  ig- 
norance, attributed  their  woes  to  the  evil  influence 
of  foreigners,  and  especially  to  the  missionaries,  who 
sought  to  overthrow  the  gods  of  the  country. 


IN    THE    HEART    OF    UNKNOWN    CHINA  133 

The  priests  taught  that  the  angry  gods  thus  were 
punishing  the  unbelief  of  the  people,  and  that  pros- 
perity never  would  return  to  their  land  until  every 
foreigner  was  driven  from  it.  Thus  it  happened 
that  the  inhabitants  of  three  provinces  were  rising 
against  missionaries  and  rail  way -builders,  robbing 
and  killing  all  who  did  not  fly  in  time,  burning  and 
destroying  their  property,  as  well  as  that  of  all  native 
converts  to  the  new  religion.  At  the  same  time  they 
were  making  pilgrimages  to  the  shrines  of  their  own 
gods,  and  imploring  them  to  once  more  send  the 
life-giving  rains. 

Rob  heard  rumors  of  these  things,  but,  believing 
them  to  be  exaggerated,  refused  to  turn  back.  So 
he  pushed  doggedly  ahead,  ever  nearing  the  storm- 
centre.  Finally,  late  one  day,  as  he  approached  a 
walled  town  in  which  he  expected  to  obtain  lodging 
for  the  night,  he  suddenly  found  himself  beset  by  a 
mob  of  frantic  rain  -  dancers,  who  rushed  upon  him 
from  a  sacred  grove  by  the  road-side.  The  slender 
escort  of  soldiers  that  had  thus  far  accompanied  our 
lad  instantly  took  to  their  heels,  leaving  him  alone 
to  face  the  hundreds  of  yelling  demons,  who  firmly 
believed  that,  if  they  could  take  his  life,  the  act 
would  be  pleasing  to  their  insulted  gods. 


CHAPTER  XVI 
"  FISTS    OF    RIGHTEOUS    HARMONY  " 

THE  people  of  China  have  suffered  much  at  the 
hands  of  foreigners,  and,  in  their  ignorance  of  every- 
thing beyond  their  own  line  of  vision,  imagine  many 
grievances  that  really  do  not  exist.  Once  China  was 
the  foremost  nation  of  the  earth  in  arts,  literature, 
commerce,  and  all  that  goes  to  the  making  of  what 
we  call  civilization.  She  invented,  used,  and  for- 
got a  thousand  things  that  the  Western  world  is 
only  now  discovering.  She  was  sufficient  unto  her- 
self, and  desired  only  to  be  let  alone. 

But  the  Western  nations  would  not  let  her  alone. 
They  insisted  upon  forcing  their  unwelcome  trade 
into  the  country;  and,  moreover,  upon  conducting 
it  themselves,  according  to  their  own  ideas.  When 
she  resisted  their  demands  they  took  possession  of 
her  seaports,  destroyed  her  forts  and  war -ships, 
placed  their  own  steamers,  protected  by  gunboats, 
on  her  rivers,  monopolized  her  coasting  trade,  and 
even  appropriated  as  their  own,  large  slices  of  her 
territory. 

Thus,  while  England  holds  the  island  of  Hong- 
Kong,  together  with  two  hundred  square  miles  of 
the  opposite  mainland,  Shanghai,  and  Wei-hai-Wei, 

134 


"  FISTS    OF    RIGHTEOUS    HARMONY  "  135 

besides  controlling  the  trade  of  the  great  Yang-tse 
Valley,  Russia,  on  the  north,  has  seized  Manchuria, 
Germany  occupies  the  province  of  Shan-tung,  Por- 
tugal has  for  three  hundred  years  been  established 
at  Macao,  and  France,  the  chief  aggressor,  already 
in  possession  of  Anam  and  Tonquin,  is  making  in- 
sidious but  certain  progress  northward  through  Yu- 
nan,  with  covetous  eyes  cast  in  the  direction  of  Can- 
ton, where  she  already  has  gained  a  foothold.  Japan 
owns  the  great  Chinese  island  of  Formosa,  and  only 
awaits  a  favorable  opportunity  for  seizing  the  oppo- 
site mainland  province  of  Fu-Kien,  while  even  Italy 
has  laid  claim  to  a  Chinese  port  and  "sphere  of  in- 
fluence." 

All  these  foreign  nations,  together  with  Americans 
and  Belgians,  are  building,  or  are  proposing  to  build, 
railways  in  China,  and  all  of  them,  with  the  further 
additions  of  Canada  and  Sweden,  are  overrunning 
the  bewildered  country  with  missionaries  of  clashing 
denominations,  each  one  of  which  teaches  that  it 
only  is  right,  while  all  the  others  are  wrong.  Some 
of  these  foreign  teachers  even  go  so  far  as  to  interfere 
with  local  governments,  taking  upon  themselves  the 
office  of  magistrate,  administering  the  laws  accord- 
ing to  their  own  interpretation,  and  always  in  favor 
of  their  own  converts,  and  at  the  same  time  demand- 
ing to  be  accorded  all  outward  forms  of  respect  due 
only  to  mandarins. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  great  mass  of  Chinese, 
groping  in  the  darkness  of  the  Middle  Ages,  bur- 
dened by  densest  ignorance,  steeped  in  superstition, 


136  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

robbed  by  their  rulers  to  the  extreme  of  poverty, 
and  forced  to  unceasing  toil  from  long  before  day- 
light until  long  after  dark  every  day  of  the  week 
throughout  every  year  of  their  joyless  lives,  are 
taught  by  their  priests,  and  by  others  of  their  own 
race  to  whom  they  look  for  guidance,  that  all  their 
sorrows,  including  floods,  famines,  and  plagues,  are 
caused  by  the  foreigners  who  are  spreading  over 
their  country  with  the  ultimate  intention  of  seizing 
it  and  subjecting  its  people  to  their  own  barbarous 
customs.  They  are  told  that  these  same  foreigners 
sweep  the  rain-clouds  from  one  portion  of  the  sky  to 
cause  droughts,  and  gather  them  at  another  to  pro- 
duce devastating  floods,  and  that  they  poison  wells 
to  bring  on  plagues.  They  are  made  to  believe  that 
the  "foreign  devils"  collect  Chinese  children  in  asy- 
lums, homes,  and  hospitals  for  the  sole  purpose  of 
extracting  their  eyes,  to  be  used  in  enchantments; 
that  every  railway-sleeper,  and  the  foundations  of 
every  Christian  edifice,  are  laid  upon  living  human 
bodies;  and  a  thousand  other  tales,  equally  mon- 
strous but  equally  terrifying. 

To  remedy  these  evils  the  people  are  invited  to 
form  themselves  into  associations,  and  thus  gain 
strength  for  the  destruction  of  the  hated  foreign 
devils,  or  at  least  to  drive  them  back  into  the  sea, 
whence  they  came.  For  the  benefit  of  those  who 
can  read,  pamphlets  setting  forth  these  views  are 
written,  printed  by  the  million,  and  distributed 
throughout  the  land;  while  the  minds  of  the  more 
ignorant  are  inflamed  by  pictured  posters  illustrat- 


"  FISTS    OF    RIGHTEOUS    HARMONY  "  137 

ing  the  horrors  perpetrated  by  foreigners,  and  posted 
broadcast  in  every  direction. 

To  these  invitations  a  Chinese  readily  responds; 
for  there  is  nothing  in  which  he  more  greatly  de- 
lights than  to  belong  to  an  association  of  any  kind 
or  for  any  purpose.  Thus  societies  for  the  exclu- 
sion of  foreigners  have  sprung  up  like  mushrooms, 
especially  in  those  coast  provinces  where  foreign  in- 
fluences are  most  noticeable ;  and  strongest  of  them 
all  is  the  great  I-Ho-Chuan,  or  "Fists  of  Righteous 
Harmony"  Society,  sometimes  called  "The  Great 
Sword  Society,"  but  known  to  the  world  at  large  as 
"Boxers,"  a  name  first  used  by  the  missionary  cor- 
respondent of  a  foreign  journal.  The  motto  of  this 
society,  as  borne  on  its  banners,  is,  "Protect  the  em- 
pire! Exterminate  foreigners!" 

During  the  initiation  of  its  members  they  fall 
into  trances,  and  believe  that,  while  in  this  state, 
the  spirits  of  departed  heroes  enter  their  bodies. 
After  that  they  are  pronounced  invulnerable  to 
sword  or  bullet,  and  are  declared  to  be  possessed  of 
magic  charms  that  no  enemy  may  withstand. 

In  1898  the  Boxer  movement  was  checked  by  the 
sudden  declaration  of  China's  young  emperor,  Kuang 
Hsu,  in  favor  of  sweeping  reforms  based  upon  West- 
ern ideas.  These  he  proceeded  to  carry  out  with 
unsuspected  energy,  deposing  corrupt  officials  in 
all  parts  of  the  empire,  and  replacing  them  with 
others  who  had  been  educated  abroad.  He  issued 
edicts  intended  to  revolutionize  the  army,  the  navy, 
the  time-honored  but  senseless  methods  of  literary 


138  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

examination,  and  the  manner  of  collecting  taxes, 
which,  if  obeyed,  would  place  his  people  upon  the 
upward  path  of  progress  so  recently  and  so  success- 
fully trodden  by  Japan.  There  is  no  doubt  that  the 
Emperor  was  sincerefin  his  avowed  determination 
to  lift  his  distressed  country  from  the  depths  to 
which  it  was  sunk;  and  had  he  remained  in  power 
the  awful  Boxer  uprising  of  two  years  later  never 
would  have  taken  place.  But  his  enemies  were  too 
strong;  and,  after  a  few  months  of  praiseworthy 
effort,  the  young  reformer  was  overthrown  by  a 
powerful  palace  clique,  headed  by  his  great  aunt, 
the  Empress  Dowager,  and  composed  of  the  high 
officials  whom  he  had  removed  from  office.  They 
forced  him  to  sign  a  decree  announcing  his  own 
abdication  of  the  throne,  and  again  the  Empress 
Dowager,  China's  worst  enemy,  assumed  the  reins 
of  power. 

At  once  all  reform  decrees  were  repealed,  the  old 
order  of  things  was  restored,  and  hatred  of  for- 
eigners was  preached  more  loudly  and  more  bitterly 
than  ever.  A  new  life  was  infused  into  the  Boxer 
movement,  which  from  that  moment  spread  like 
wildfire  over  the  northern  provinces,  until  in  the 
summer  of  1900  it  reached  its  height.  During  that 
dreadful  summer  mission  stations  everywhere  were 
looted  and  destroyed,  while  their  unfortunate  occu- 
pants were  driven  out  to  be  killed  or  cast  into  loath- 
some prisons,  from  which  death  was  their  only  re- 
lease. Christian  converts  were  massacred  by  scores 
and  hundreds,  railroad  property  was  destroyed,  and 


"  FISTS    OF    RIGHTEOUS    HARMONY  "  139 

railroad  employes  suffered  the  fate  of  missionaries. 
A  rumor  to  the  effect  that  all  foreigners,  including 
members  of  legations,  had  been  driven  from  Pekin, 
was  generally  believed ;  as  was  another,  stating  that 
every  foreign  resident  of  Tien-Tsin  had  been  killed. 
Above  all,  it  was  understood  that  the  Empress 
Dowager  was  in  full  sympathy  with  the  movement 
to  rid  her  kingdom  of  foreigners,  and  would  render 
every  assistance  in  her  power  to  those  engaged  in  the 
effort. 

Such  was  the  condition  of  affairs  in  north  China 
when,  in  the  early  summer  of  1900,  the  young  Amer- 
ican, Rob  Hinckley,  on  a  peaceful  mission  to  Pekin, 
suddenly  found  himself  deserted  and  alone  in  the 
presence  of  a  mob  of  crazed  fanatics,  intent  upon 
taking  his  life.  Our  lad  did  not  know  why  they 
wished  to  kill  him;  for,  since  leaving  the  Yang-tse 
River,  he  had  found  an  ever-increasing  difficulty 
in  comprehending  the  dialect  spoken  by  the  com- 
mon people,  until  at  length  it  had  become  wholly 
incomprehensible.  Thus  he  knew  almost  nothing 
of  the  Boxer  movement,  nor  of  the  awful  state  of 
affairs  existing  in  the  country  between  him  and 
Pekin. 

He,  however,  instantly  recognized  the  danger  of 
his  present  position,  and,  clapping  spurs  to  the 
jaded  pony  he  was  riding,  he  dashed  away  in  the 
direction  of  the  nearest  city  gate,  with  the  mob  in 
full  cry  at  his  heels.  The  distance  was  short,  and 
Rob  was  within  fifty  feet  of  the  outer  gate,  with  a 
good  lead  of  his  pursuers,  when  all  at  once  it  oc- 


140  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

curred  to  him  that  he  was  about  to  jump  from  the 
frying-pan  into  the  fire,  since  once  within  the  city 
walls  his  enemies  could  close  all  exits  and  hunt 
him  down  at  their  leisure.  With  this  he  pulled  his 
pony  so  sharply  to  one  side  that  the  animal,  already 
exhausted  to  the  point  of  dropping,  stumbled  and 
fell,  flinging  Rob  to  earth  over  his  head.  As  the 
lad  scrambled  to  his  feet  he  was  amazed  to  hear  in 
English  a  shout  of — 

"Keep  on  to  the  gate!     It's  your  only  chance!" 

Although  he  could  see  no  one  in  that  direction, 
the  voice  seemed  to  come  from  the  gateway  itself; 
and,  as  his  madly  yelling  pursuers  were  now  close 
upon  him,  Rob  accepted  the  advice  so  strangely 
given  and  darted  forward  on  his  original  course. 

A  few  minutes  earlier  a  young  Chinese,  clad  in 
the  uniform  of  an  officer  of  imperial  troops,  stood 
at  a  narrow  loop-hole  in  the  watch-tower  above  the 
city  gate,  gazing  listlessly  outward  over  a  vast  ex- 
panse of  flat,  parched,  uninteresting  country.  He 
had  carelessly  noted  the  approach  from  afar  of  Rob's 
little  party,  whom  he  supposed  to  be  ordinary  native 
travellers,  and  had  only  been  aroused  from  his  apa- 
thy by  the  yells  of  the  rain-dancers,  as  they  raised 
the  cry  of,  "Death  to  the  foreign  devil!" 

"They  must  be  mistaken,"  thought  the  officer, 
"for  there  can't  be  any  foreigners  left  in  this  part  of 
the  country."  He  watched  Rob's  flight  with  ever- 
growing interest,  and  was  about  to  descend  from 
the  tower  so  as  to  meet  him  at  the  gate  when  the 
young  American  attempted  to  change  his  pony's 


"HIS    MADLY    YELLING    PURSUERS   WERE    NOW   CLOSE    UPON 
HIM" 


"  FISTS    OF    RIGHTEOUS    HARMONY  "  141 

course.  Then  the  watcher  uttered  the  surprising 
call  that  again  altered  Rob's  determination,  and  in 
another  moment  he  was  springing  down  the  flight 
of  stone  steps  leading  to  the  outer  gateway.  As  he 
reached  it,  Rob  had  just  entered,  and  was  starting 
across  the  barbican  towards  the  inner  gate. 

' '  Stop ! ' '  shouted  the  young  Chinese.  ' '  Come  here 
quick  and  help  me!" 

Rob  hesitated  only  the  fraction  of  a  second  and 
then  did  as  he  was  bidden.  The  Chinese  was  strain- 
ing at  one  of  the  two  massive,  iron-bound  doors  of 
the  gateway,  and  in  another  moment  Rob  was  add- 
ing every  ounce  of  his  own  strength  to  the  effort. 
It  yielded  slowly,  and  its  hinges  creaked  rustily  as 
it  swung  heavily  into  place. 

"Now  the  other,  quick!"  exclaimed  the  stranger, 
and  with  an  effort  that  nearly  started  blood  from 
their  swelling  veins  the  two  young  fellows  closed  the 
great  valve  in  the  very  faces  of  the  frantic  outside 
mob  that  flung  themselves  bodily  against  it  mad 
with  baffled  rage.  They  could  not  open  it,  for  a 
stout  iron  bolt  had  dropped  into  place  as  the  gate 
was  closed,  and  nothing  short  of  a  cannonade  could 
now  force  an  entrance. 

"  Follow  me!"  said  the  Chinese,  huskily,  and  pant- 
ing from  his  recent  exertion,  at  the  same  time  turn- 
ing up  the  narrow  stairway  leading  to  the  watch- 
tower,  and  Rob  obeyed. 

The  latter  was  full  of  perplexity  at  finding  in  this 
out-of-the-way  place  a  Chinese  who  not  only  spoke 
English,  but  apparently  was  willing  to  endanger  him- 


142  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

self  to  rescue  a  foreigner  from  a  mob.  So  quick  had 
been  all  their  movements  since  he  darted  through 
the  gateway  that  he  had  not  yet  obtained  a  view  of 
his  rescuer's  face,  and,  of  course,  had  not  been  able 
to  question  him. 

In  the  tower,  at  the  top  of  the  stairway,  he  found 
his  strange  companion  taking  a  quick  view  of  the 
raging  mob  below.  As  he  stepped  to  his  side,  the 
young  Chinese  turned  and  stared  him  full  in  the 
eyes.  For  a  moment  they  regarded  each  other  in 
amazed  silence.  Then  a  simultaneous  exclamation 
burst  from  their  lips: 

"Rob  Hinckley!" 

"Chinese  Jo!" 


CHAPTER  XVII 

LEAPING    INTO    UNKNOWN    BLACKNESS 

To  the  friends  who  had  been  so  mysteriously 
separated  many  months  earlier,  and  on  the  other 
side  of  the  world,  their  reunion  at  this  place  and  un- 
der such  conditions  was  bewildering  and  incredible. 
They  could  scarcely  believe  the  evidence  of  their  own 
eyes.  The  last  time  Rob  had  seen  Jo  the  latter  had 
been  shorn  of  his  queue,  while  now  his  hair  again 
hung  in  a  long,  glossy  braid.  For  a  moment  they 
stood  clasping  each  other's  hand,  after  the  fashion 
of  the  West,  and  staring  without  speech.  There 
was  so  much  to  be  said  that  they  could  say  nothing. 
Then  they  were  aroused  to  a  sense  of  imminent 
danger  by  the  sounds  of  ascending  voices  and  hurry- 
ing footsteps  on  the  stone  stairway.  Evidently  the 
present  was  no  time  for  explanations. 

"Quick,  Rob!  Go  up  there  and  hide,"  whispered 
Jo,  pointing,  as  he  spoke,  to  a  rude  ladder  leading 
into  the  darkness  of  an  upper  loft.  "Stay  there  till 
I  come  or  I  cannot  save  you." 

Even  as  he  spoke,  Jo  turned  to  the  stairway  as 
though  about  to  descend,  while  Rob  sprang  to  the 
ladder. 

A  Chinese  soldier  was  so  close  at  hand  that  he 
'43 


144  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

would  have  gained  the  room  and  caught  sight  of 
the  fugitive  had  not  the  young  officer  arrested  his 
progress  with  the  stern  inquiry: 

"What  is  going  on  below?  Are  you  all  mad  or 
drunk  with  the  juice  of  poppies  ?  Cannot  I  meditate 
in  peace  without  being  disturbed  by  the  howlings 
of  you  swine?  How  dare  you  come  up  here  without 
orders?  Answer  me,  dog,  and  son  of  generations  of 
dogs,  before  I  cause  you  to  be  beaten  with  a  hundred 
blows!" 

The  terrified  soldier,  who  held  a  petty  office,  cor- 
responding to  that  of  corporal  of  the  guard,  recoiled 
from  the  presence  of  his  angry  superior,  who,  if  he 
had  chosen,  could  have  him  beaten  even  to  death, 
and,  kotowing  until  his  forehead  touched  the  stones, 
answered : 

"  Know,  your  honorable  excellency,  that  the  outer 
gate  has  been  closed  without  knowledge  of  any  in 
the  guard-house,  and  beyond  it  many  persons,  mad 
with  anger,  are  clamorous  for  admittance.  It  is  a 
mystery;  and  before  opening  the  gate  I  came  up 
here  for  a  look  at  the  outsiders,  to  make  certain  that 
they  are  not  enemies. 

"Closed,  pig?  How  can  it  be  that  the  gate  is 
closed  without  orders  from  me,  the  keeper  of  the 
gate?  This  thing  must  be  examined  into,"  cried 
the  young  officer,  with  every  appearance  of  extreme 
anger.  "Let  it  be  opened  without  delay.  But  first 
come  with  me  and  look  at  these  outside  howlers.  It 
may  be,  even  as  your  stupidity  suggests,  that  they 
are  men  from  Chang-Chow,  who  have  ever  been  un- 


LEAPING    INTO    UNKNOWN    BLACKNESS       145 

friendly  to  this  city  because  of  its  greater  prosper- 
ity." 

This  was  said  to  give  the  soldier  an  opportunity 
for  seeing  that  no  other  person  was  in  the  room, 
which  fact  he  would  report  to  his  comrades. 

As  they  examined  the  furious  crowd  besieging  the 
gate,  Jo  exclaimed,  even  more  angrily  than  before: 

"Those  be  no  Chang-Chow  men,  but  our  friends 
and  own  people.  They  are  the  dancers,  who,  to- 
gether with  the  good  priests,  pray  constantly  for 
rain,  and  who  went  out  to  the  shrine  of  the  holy 
rain-god  but  an  hour  ago.  Ah,  but  you  shall  smart- 
ly suffer  for  closing  a  gate  of  their  own  city  against 
them.  Hasten  and  open  it  again  if  you  would  have 
the  setting  sun  behold  your  worthless  head  still  upon 
your  wretched  shoulders." 

Thus  saying,  the  young  officer  spurned  the  trem- 
bling soldier  with  his  foot  and  followed  him  down 
the  stairway.  In  another  moment  the  great  gate 
was  opened  to  the  torrent  of  frantic  humanity  that 
rushed  in  demanding  to  know  what  had  become  of 
the  foreign  devil  whom  they  had  seen  enter  only  a 
few  minutes  before,  and  where  the  soldiers  had  hid- 
den him.  Also  why  they  had  closed  the  gate  in  the 
very  faces  of  his  pursuers. 

"Give  him  up  to  us,"  shrieked  the  priests,  "that 
we  may  kill  him,  for  doubtless  it  is  he  who  keeps 
away  the  blessed  rain." 

The  denials  of  the  guard  that  they  even  had  seen 
any  foreigner,  or  that  they  had  closed  the  gate,  were 
so  little  heeded  by  the  clamorous  throng,  that  it 


146  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

might  have  gone  hard  with  them  had  not  Jo  secured 
a  hearing  by  firing  a  shot  from  his  revolver,  a  weap- 
on that  he  alone  of  all  those  present  possessed. 

"The  guard  has  not  seen  the  foreign  devil  or 
surely  they  would  have  arrested  him,"  he  cried,  in 
the  awed  silence  that  followed  his  shot.  "Nor  did 
they  close  the  gate,  for  they  would  not  dare  without 
my  orders,  and  I  gave  none.  Nor  could  one  man, 
not  even  a  foreign  devil,  close  the  gate  unaided, 
since  it  often  has  been  tried  and  they  have  proved 
too  heavy.  Only  by  magic  could  he  have  done  this 
thing,  and  by  magic  must  he  have  blinded  the  eyes 
of  the  soldiers  so  that  they  did  not  see  him  pass 
them  into  the  city.  But  your  priests  have  magic 
as  well  as  the  foreigners,  and  by  means  of  it  he  may 
be  discovered.  Let  us  then  again  close  the  gate 
that  he  may  not  escape,  and  search  for  him  in  every 
quarter  of  the  city.  When  he  is  found  let  his  head 
promptly  be  cut  off,  before  he  has  time  again  to  use 
his  magic.  Thus  shall  the  city  be  purified  and  the 
wrath  of  the  rain-god  be  appeased.  Protect  the  em- 
pire! Exterminate  foreigners!" 

With  this  rallying-cry  of  the  Great  Swords,  Jo  led 
the  way  across  the  enclosed  space  separating  the  in- 
ner from  the  outer  gate,  past  the  guard-house,  where 
his  soldiers  spent  their  waking  hours  in  gambling 
with  long,  slim  Chinese  cards  and  piles  of  beans, 
and  on  into  the  narrow  streets  of  the  city.  There 
he  was  so  active  in  the  search  that  was  maintained, 
until  stopped  by  darkness,  that  he  gained  a  notable 
reputation  as  a  hater  of  foreigners.  Thus  by  his 


LEAPING    INTO    UNKNOWN    BLACKNESS  147 

prompt  action  were  Rob's  enemies  so  completely 
thrown  off  his  track  that  not  once  was  his  real  hid- 
ing-place approached  or  even  suspected. 

In  the  mean  time  he,  intensely  wearied  by  hours 
of  confinement  in  that  hot,  dusty  loft,  grew  vastly 
impatient  of  inaction.  He  was  hungry  and  parched 
with  thirst;  no  sound  penetrated  his  prison,  nor  any 
ray  of  light.  He  had  no  idea  of  the  passage  of  time, 
and  imagined  it  to  be  much  later  in  the  night  than  it 
really  was,  when  he  was  startled  by  a  sharp  "  Hist!" 
that  seemed  to  come  from  the  top  of  the  ladder. 

Too  wary  to  answer  it,  he  only  listened,  with  senses 
all  alert,  for  something  further.  Then  came  a  whis- 
pered "Rob,"  and  he  knew  that  his  only  friend  in 
that  part  of  the  world  was  at  hand. 

"Crawl  here  on  your  hands  and  knees,"  whispered 
Jo.  "Don't  let  your  boots  touch  the  floor,  for  the 
guards  below  are  wide  awake  and  listening  to  every 
sound.  That's  right.  Now  put  on  these  felt  boots. 
Leave  your  own  behind,  and  follow  me  without  a 
word." 

Rob  obeyed  these  instructions  in  all  but  one  thing. 
His  boots  were  of  heavy  English  leather,  lacing 
high  on  his  ankles,  and  had  been  procured  in  Han- 
kow. They  were  very  comfortable  as  well  as  dur- 
able, and  he  could  not  bear  the  thought  of  exchang- 
ing them  for  cloth  shoes  with  felt  soles,  especially 
in  view  of  the  amount  of  walking  ahead  of  him  if 
he  made  good  his  escape.  So,  though  he  put  on 
the  pair  provided  by  Jo,  he  tied  the  others  about 
his  neck,  and,  thus  equipped,  noiselessly  followed  his 


148  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

friend  down  the  ladder  to  the  room  below.  From 
this  room  a  narrow  doorway  opened  on  the  broad 
parapet  of  the  city  wall.  Towards  this  door  they 
were  making  their  cautious  way,  when  suddenly  the 
hastily  tied  strings  of  Rob's  heavy  boots  gave  way, 
and  they  fell  to  the  stone  floor  with  a  clatter  that 
awoke  the  echoes. 

Our  lad  uttered  an  exclamation  of  dismay  as  he 
groped  about  the  floor  to  recover  his  lost  treasures; 
but  it  was  drowned  in  a  tumult  of  shouts  from  be- 
low. At  the  same  time  a  scuffling  of  feet  on  the 
stairway  proved  that  the  alarmed  guard  were  on 
their  way  to  investigate. 

Jo,  knowing  nothing  of  the  boots,  could  not  im- 
agine what  had  happened,  and  called  from  the  door- 
way that  he  already  had  reached : 

"  Never  mind  anything!  Come  on,  quick,  for  your 
life!" 

But  Rob,  having  found  one  boot,  was  determined 
to  have  the  other,  for  which  he  still  was  feeling  over 
a  wide  area  of  floor  space.  At  length  his  fingers 
touched  it;  but  as  he  triumphantly  rose  to  his  feet 
a  dark,  heavily  breathing  form,  brandishing  some 
sort  of  a  weapon,  confronted  him.  The  next  in- 
stant he  had  sent  the  overzealous  guard  reeling 
backward  with  a  swinging  blow  from  the  heavy 
boot  just  recovered,  that  took  him  full  in  the  face. 
With  a  yell  of  combined  pain  and  fright,  the  soldier 
pitched  down  the  narrow  stairway,  carrying  with 
him  the  comrades  who  were  close  at  his  heels.  Be- 
fore the  confused  heap  could  disentangle  itself,  our 


LEAPING    INTO    UNKNOWN    BLACKNESS  149 

lads  had  fled  through  the  doorway  and  were  speed- 
ing like  shadows  along  the  top  of  the  lofty  wall. 

As  they  ran  they  heard  behind  them  a  shrill 
screaming  and  a  furious  beating  of  gongs.  Then 
from  the  tall  drum-tower  in  the  centre  of  the  city 
came  a  deep,  booming  sound  that  could  be  heard 
for  miles.  The  great  drum  that  is  only  sounded  in 
times  of  public  peril  was  arousing  the  citizens  and 
sending  them  swarming  from  their  houses.  Torches 
appeared  not  only  in  the  streets  but  on  the  wall 
behind  our  flying  lads.  Then,  to  Rob's  dismay, 
others  began  to  gleam  in  front  of  them.  To  be 
sure,  these  still  were  a  long  distance  away,  but  they 
gave  certain  evidence  that  flight  in  that  direction 
must  come  to  a  speedy  end. 

"What  is  the  use  of  running  any  farther?"  asked 
Rob.  "We'll  only  fall  in  with  that  torch-light  pro- 
cession all  the  sooner.  Seems  to  me  we  might  as 
well  stop  where  we  are  and  see  about  getting  down 
off  this  perch." 

"There's  only  one  place  to  get  down,"  answered 
Jo,  "and  it  still  is  ahead  of  us.  Run  faster!  We've 
got  to  reach  it  first." 

So  the  fugitives  put  on  an  added  burst  of  speed, 
though  to  Rob  it  seemed  that  they  were  only  rush- 
ing directly  into  the  arms  of  the  advancing  torch- 
bearers. 

Suddenly  Jo  exclaimed,  breathlessly,  "Here's  the 
place!"  and  then,  to  Rob's  dismay,  he  took  a  flying 
leap  off  the  parapet  into  the  gulf  of  impenetrable 
blackness  lying  on  the  outer  side  of  the  wall. 


150  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

For  a  moment  the  young  American  turned  sick 
with  the  thought  that,  despairing  of  ultimate  escape, 
his  comrade  had  chosen  death  by  suicide,  and  now 
lay  lifeless  at  the  foot  of  the  lofty  battlement. 

Then  came  the  familiar  voice  rising  from  some 
unknown  depth,  and  calling  on  him  to  follow. 

"Jump,  Rob!"  it  cried;  "you'll  land  all  right,  the 
same  as  I  have." 

Even  with  this  assurance  our  lad  hesitated  to  leap 
into  the  darkness.  He  knew  that  the  wall  was  at 
least  fifty  feet  high.  There  was  at  its  bottom  no 
moat  filled  with  water,  into  which  one  might  launch 
himself  with  safety.  "Nor  is  there  any  pile  of 
feather-beds,  that  I  know  of,"  he  thought,  grimly. 

From  both  sides  lines  of  torches  were  steadily 
advancing,  while  up  from  the  city  rose  a  tumult  of 
angry  voices.  Only  in  the  outside  blackness  that 
already  had  engulfed  his  friend  was  there  the  slight- 
est promise  of  escape. 

"I  suppose  there's  nothing  else  to  be  done,"  he 
muttered,  setting  his  teeth  and  bracing  himself  for 
the  effort.  "So,  here  goes!" 

With  this  he  sprang  out  into  space  and  instantly 
vanished. 

When,  a  minute  later,  the  advancing  lines  of  torch- 
bearers  came  together  at  that  very  point,  they  were 
bewildered  and  frightened  by  the  absolute  disappear- 
ance of  those  whom  they  had  thought  to  be  so  sure- 
ly within  their  grasp. 

Certainly  the  magic  of  the  foreign  devils  was 
stronger  than  their  priests  had  led  them  to  believe. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 
A    SUPPER    OF    SACRED    EELS 

THE  great  plain  of  northern  China  is  composed  of 
alluvial  matter  extending  to  an  unknown  depth,  red- 
dish-yellow in  color,  and  possessed  of  wonderful  fer- 
tility. When  wet  it  packs  closely;  and  later,  under 
the  influence  of  a  hot  sun,  it  bakes  like  clay.  Dur- 
ing seasons  of  drought  it  pulverizes  to  an  almost 
impalpable  dust  that  is  blown  by  fierce  winds  into 
ridges  and  heaps  like  snow-drifts.  These  are  piled 
high  against  obstructing  walls,  so  that  sometimes 
buildings  standing  in  exposed  situations  are  com- 
pletely  buried  beneath  them.  Such  a  drift  of  fine 
sand  had  formed  in  an  angle  of  the  city  wall,  along 
which  our  lads  fled;  and  Chinese  Jo,  knowing  of  it, 
had  selected  this  as  a  point  for  escape. 

Thus,  when  Rob,  with  many  misgivings,  leaped 
into  unknown  blackness,  he  had  not  dropped  more 
than  twenty  feet  when  he  struck  a  steep  slope 
of  soft  material  down  which  he  slid  with  great  ve- 
locity amid  a  smother  of  choking  dust.  The  next 
thing  he  knew,  Jo  was  pulling  him  to  his  feet,  and 
bidding  him  make  haste  to  get  away  before  their 
mode  of  escape  should  be  discovered  by  the  torch- 
bearers,  who  now  swarmed  on  the  wall  above  them. 


152  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

So  the  lads  ran,  with  Jo  acting  as  guide,  across  crop- 
less  fields,  climbing  over  useless  dikes,  and  stum- 
bling through  dry  ditches,  until  a  black  mass,  dimly 
outlined  against  the  sky,  rose  before  them.  As  they 
drew  near,  this  resolved  itself  into  a  clump  of  trees, 
which,  from  experience  already  gained  in  China,  Rob 
knew  must  be  a  sacred  grove.  It  was,  in  fact,  the 
very  grove  from  which  the  frantic  rain-dancers  had 
streamed  in  pursuit  of  him  a  few  hours  earlier.  Now 
it  was  silent  and  deserted,  even  the  ancient  temple 
of  the  rain-god,  standing  in  its  centre,  being  empty 
of  priests  or  worshippers. 

Finding  the  door  of  this  temple  open,  and  hearing 
no  sound  within,  the  fugitives  made  a  cautious  entry 
into  the  sacred  precincts.  Here  their  attention  was 
attracted  by  a  faint  glow  coming  from  a  heap  of  em- 
bers on  an  altar  that  stood  before  a  gigantic  image 
of  the  rain-god  himself. 

While  endeavoring  to  get  a  closer  view  of  the 
idol,  Rob  stumbled  and  pitched  forward,  thrust- 
ing his  outstretched  hands  into  an  invisible  but 
shallow  tank  of  water.  He  uttered  a  yell  of  af- 
fright as  he  withdrew  them  and  sprang  back. 
"It's  a  nest  of  snakes!"  he  cried — "slimy,  wriggling 
snakes!" 

"Hush!"  admonished  Jo,  listening  intently;  but 
there  was  no  sound,  save  of  a  slight  splashing  in  the 
as  yet  unseen  water. 

"If  there  were  any  priests  here  your  racket  cer- 
tainly would  have  roused  them,"  he  said.  "But,  as 
nobody  seems  to  be  stirring,  I  -expect  we've  got  the 


THE    FUGITIVES    MADE    A    CAUTIOUS    ENTRY    INTO   THE 
SACRED  PRECINCTS" 


A  SUPPER  OF  SACRED  EELS         153 

place  to  ourselves.  Close  the  door  while  I  make  a 
light,  so  that  we  can  see  where  we  are." 

From  the  floor  the  speaker  gathered  a  few  bits 
of  unburned  joss-paper  that  he  laid  on  the  faintly 
glowing  altar  embers  and  blew  into  a  blaze.  Though 
this  lasted  but  a  moment,  it  served  to  show  some 
half-burned  candles  standing  behind  the  altar,  one 
of  which  Jo  lighted  from  the  expiring  flame. 

By  this  faint  light  the  lads  discovered  a  number 
of  crude  figures  of  men  and  beasts  ranged  on  either 
side  of  the  rain-god,  while  a  pool  of  water  glittered 
at  their  feet.  In  it  squirmed  a  score  or  more  of  eels, 
emblems  of  the  god,  among  which  Rob  had  thrust 
his  arms. 

"There  are  your  snakes,"  laughed  the  young  Chi- 
nese, "and  with  them  plenty  of  water  to  drink,  if 
you  are  thirsty." 

"Goodness  knows!  I'm  thirsty  enough,  and 
stuffed  full  of  dust  besides,  but  I  wouldn't  drink 
that  water,  with  those  things  in  it,  not  if  I  was 
dying  of  thirst." 

"I  would,  then,"  replied  Jo,  who  was  too  thor- 
oughly Chinese  to  be  fastidious;  and,  to  prove  his 
words,  he  scooped  a  handful  of  the  water  to  his  lips. 

"It  isn't  very  good  water,"  he  acknowledged; 
"but  perhaps  we  can  find  some  that  is  better  where 
this  came  from." 

A  short  search  revealed  a  well  just  back  of  the 
temple,  and  from  it,  by  means  of  a  section  of  hollow 
bamboo  attached  to  a  long  cord,  they  drew  a  plenti- 
ful supply  of  water  that  was  much  purer  than  that 


154  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

in  the  tank,  and  was  not  visibly  contaminated  by 
eels,  snakes,  or  any  other  unpleasant  creatures. 

"My!  what  a  blessed  thing  water  is!"  exclaimed 
Rob,  after  a  long  pull  at  the  bamboo  bucket.  "I 
don't  wonder  that  the  people  of  a  burned-up  coun- 
try like  this  pray  to  a  rain-god.  Now,  if  only  we  had 
something  to  eat  we'd  be  well  fixed  to  move  on." 

"That's  easy,"  replied  Jo,  reaching  into  the  tank 
and  drawing  forth  a  large,  squirming  eel  as  he  spoke. 

"Eat  a  snake!"  cried  Rob,  in  a  disgusted  tone. 
"Not  much!  I  won't!" 

Jo  smiled  as  he  cut  off  the  eel's  head  and  pro- 
ceeded to  skin  its  still  wriggling  body,  which  he 
divided  into  short  sections.  Wrapping  each  of  these 
in  green  bamboo  leaves  that  he  procured  from  a 
clump  of  the  giant  grass  growing  beside  the  well, 
he  buried  them  in  the  hot  sand  of  the  altar,  and 
raked  over  them  a  lot  of  glowing  coals. 

While  he  did  this,  Rob,  with  the  aid  of  a  lighted 
candle  was  examining  the  strange  figures  that  occu- 
pied the  interior  of  the  temple.  All  at  once,  from 
somewhere  behind  the  great  idol,  he  called  out, 
"Look  here,  Jo!  He's  hollow!" 

Going  to  see  what  was  meant,  the  young  Chinese 
found  his  friend  holding  the  candle  above  his  head 
and  pointing  to  a  small  door,  standing  slightly  ajar, 
in  the  back  of  the  image.  It  was  so  perfectly  fitted 
that,  had  it  been  closed,  no  trace  of  an  opening 
could  have  been  discovered. 

Climbing  to  the  place,  they  easily  opened  the  door, 
and  through  the  aperture  thus  disclosed  crawled  into 


A  SUPPER  OF  SACRED  EELS         155 

the  very  body  of  the  rain-god.  They  found  them- 
selves in  a  space  large  enough  for  them  to  stand  up 
or  to  lie  in  at  full  length,  but  filled  with  a  confused 
litter  of  garments,  masks,  banners,  and  other  para- 
phernalia of  the  priestly  trade. 

"It's  the  biggest  kind  of  a  find,"  said  Jo,  evidently 
much  excited  over  this  discovery,  "and  it  gives  me 
an  idea;  but  I  must  eat  before  explaining,  so  let 
us  go  to  tiffin." 

The  cooked  eel,  which  Rob  still  insisted  was  noth- 
ing more  nor  less  than  a  snake,  looked  and  smelled 
so  good  that  the  latter's  desperate  hunger  finally 
persuaded  him  to  taste  a  morsel.  Then  he  took  an- 
other, and  a  few  minutes  later,  gazing  thoughtfully 
at  a  small  heap  of  well-cleaned  bones,  he  asked  Jo 
if  he  didn't  think  they  might  cook  a  few  more  eels 
while  they  were  about  it.  An  hour  later  he  declared 
that  he  had  eaten  one  of  the  best  meals  of  his  life, 
and  was  altogether  too  well  content  with  their  pres- 
ent situation  to  think  of  travelling  any  farther  that 
night. 

Jo  readily  agreed  that  they  should  spend  a  few 
hours  where  they  were,  as  he  wanted  time  to  think 
out  a  plan  of  escape,  and  believed  that  for  the  present 
this  temple  was  as  safe  a  place  as  they  were  likely 
to  find.  So,  while  they  removed  all  traces  of  their 
presence,  Rob  arranged  the  priestly  vestments  they 
had  found  inside  the  rain-god  into  a  sort  of  a  bed, 
and  a  little  later,  lying  on  this,  each  of  the  lads  gave 
the  other  an  account  of  his  adventures  since  they  had 
parted  in  far-away  America.  Rob's  story  we  know, 


156  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

as  we  do  that  of  Jo  up  to  the  time  of  his  commit- 
ment to  prison  in  New  York,  charged  with  being  a 
Chinese  laundry -worker  who  had  illegally  entered 
the  United  States. 

"I  was  kept  there  two  weeks,"  he  now  said,  "and 
treated  worse  than  a  dog  all  the  time.  They  would 
not  allow  me  to  write  or  telegraph  to  you  or  any  of 
my  friends,  and  finally  carried  me  off  at  night  in  a 
prison- van,  together  with  a  dozen  coolies  gathered 
from  different  parts  of  the  country,  who  hated  me 
because  I  had  cut  off  my  queue.  After  that  we 
travelled  handcuffed  together,  two  and  two,  in  a 
crowded  immigrant-car,  to  San  Francisco,  where  we 
were  locked  up  in  a  filthy  shed  until  a  steamer  was 
ready  to  sail.  On  our  journey  to  that  point  we  got 
very  little  to  eat,  but  what  we  had  was  fairly  good. 
The  food  given  us  in  the  shed  was  bad,  but  what  we 
got  on  the  steamer,  where  we  were  put  in  the  hold, 
without  being  allowed  to  go  on  deck  during  the  whole 
voyage,  was  simply  rotten. 

"The  ship  was  under  contract  to  deliver  us  at 
Shanghai;  but  when  she  anchored  off  Woo -Sung 
and  they  began  to  transfer  us  into  a  launch  that 
would  take  us  to  the  city,  fourteen  miles  farther  up 
the  river,  we  were  in  such  a  horrible  condition  that 
the  other  passengers  objected  to  having  us  on  board. 
So  we  were  set  ashore  at  Woo-Sung  and  told  we 
might  walk  the  rest  of  the  way. 

"I  was  so  sick  and  weak  that,  after  we  had  walked 
a  few  miles,  I  gave  out  and  laid  down  by  the  road- 
side. There,  I  suppose,  I  should  have  frozen  to 


A  SUPPER  OF  SACRED  EELS         157 

death,  for  it  was  bitter  cold,  winter  weather,  if  a 
farmer  had  not  found  me  and  taken  me  to  his  house. 
My  father  afterwards  made  him  a  rich  man  for  it. 
He  fed,  clothed,  and  kept  me  until  I  could  get  word 
to  some  friends  in  Shanghai,  after  which,  of  course, 
I  was  all  right. 

' '  Finding  that  my  father  had  been  transferred  to 
Pao-Ting-Fu — between  here  and  Pekin,  you  know — 
I  went  there;  and  when  he  heard  how  I  had  been 
treated,  he  was  so  angry  that  he  swore  he'd  do 
everything  in  his  power  to  drive  foreigners  out  of 
China.  He  did  drive  a  good  many  from  his  own  dis- 
trict, especially  railroad  people;  but  when  the  Great 
Swords  began  killing  them,  he  drew  the  line  and 
said  that  that  was  going  too  far.  One  day  a  Boxer 
army  came  along  with  a  lot  of  missionaries,  whom 
they  proposed  to  burn  to  death  in  the  city  temple. 
My  father  told  them  they  must  give  up  their  prison- 
ers to  him,  arid  when  they  refused  he  ordered  out 
his  own  soldiers,  killed  a  lot  of  the  Boxers,  rescued 
the  missionaries,  and  sent  them  under  guard  to  the 
coast.  For  that  he  was  recalled  to  Pekin,  and  Man- 
darin Ting  Yuan  was  put  in  his  place.  Last  week 
that  man  turned  over  fifteen  missionary  people,  some 
of  them  women  and  little  children,  to  be  tortured  and 
put  to  death  by  the  Boxers  of  Pao-Ting-Fu." 

"But  what  were  you  doing  all  this  time?"  asked 
Rob,  his  face  paling  at  thought  of  these  horrors. 

"I  had  obtained  a  commission  as  captain  of  im- 
perial troops,  and  was  sent  down  here,  where  I  have 
been  ever  since." 


I ;  >  THE    BLUE    DRAGOX 

"You  haven't  seen  any  missionaries  killed,  have 
you?"  demanded  Rob,  anxiously. 

"No,  and  I  don't  think  I  should  have,  without 
trying  to  save  them,  in  spite  of  the  way  I  was  treat- 
ed in  America.  But  I  received  orders  from  Pekin 
only  yesterday  not  to  oppose  the  Boxers  in  anyway, 
no  matter  what  they  did.  I  was  up  in  that  watch- 
tower  wondering  what  I  ought  to  do  if  any  mission- 
aries itfrmiM  come  this  way,  when  I  saw  the  rain- 
dancers  chasing  you.  Of  course,  I  didn't  recognize 
you;  but  the  •JH'**™!  I  discovered  you  were  a  for- 
eigner I  knew  that  I  couldn't  stand  by  and  see  you 
killed  without  maJnng  an  effort  to  prevent  it." 

"Didn't  you  know  who  I  was  until  we  stood  to- 
gether on  the  watch-tower?"  asked  Rob,  curiously. 

"No.  I  bad  not  time  for  a  good  look  at  you 
until  that  nmimr"'  Even  then  I  couldn't  at  first 
befieve  it  really  was  you;  it  seemed  so  utterly  im- 
possible that  you  could  be  in  China." 

"What  do  you  propose  to  do  now?" 

"Stay  with  you  until  I  get  you  to  a  place  of 
safety." 

"But  yon  wiD  lose  your  position  in  the  army  if 
you  leave  your  post." 

"Yes." 

"And  pt*fr*fff  lie  shot  as  a  deserter." 

"Quite  so." 

"Aren't  yon  almost  certain  to  be  killed  if  you  are 
found  in  company  with  a  foreigner  whom  you  are 
aiding  to  escape?" 


A  SUPPER  OF  SACRED  EELS         159 

"And  you  are  willing  to  risk  your  life,  besides 
throwing  away  your  career,  for  the  sake  of  one  of 
the  very  people  who  treated  you  so  shamefully 
when  you  were  in  America?" 

"It  is  a  saying  of  the  ancients,"  replied  Jo,  "that 
friendship  shines  among  the  brightest  jewels  in  the 
ring  of  life;  also,  that  life  without  friendship  is  as  a 
barren  fruit  tree,  and  that  for  a  true  friendship  life 
itself  is  not  too  high  a  price  to  pay.  Therefore,  may 
I  not  risk,  and  gladly,  a  life  of  little  value,  to  save 
that  of  one  who,  though  he  is  of  a  people  who  ill- 
treated  me,  is  also  the  best  friend  I  have  in  all  the 
world?  Did  he  not,  even  when  we  were  strangers, 
fight  to  save  me  from  abuse?  and  can  I  do  less  for 
him  now  that  we  are  friends?  So  it  is  foolish  for 
you  to  ask  questions,  since  it  is  assured  that  until 
I  can  leave  you  in  a  place  of  safety  your  enemies 
are  my  enemies,  your  friends  are  my  friends,  and 
wherever  you  go  there  go  I  also." 

"Then,"  said  Rob,  who  was  greatly  affected  by 
these  words,  "let  us  stay  right  where  we  are  until 
morning,  for  I  want  to  think  over  all  you  have  told 
me." 

After  this  the  lads  did  not  talk  any  more,  but  a 
few  minutes  later  were  sound  asleep  inside  the  very 
rain -god  to  which  one  of  them  would  have  been 
sacrificed  had  he  been  caught  in  that  vicinity  a  few 
hours  earlier. 


CHAPTER   XIX 
AN    EXHIBITION    OF    THE    RAIN-GOD'S    ANGER 

MONGOLIANS,  including  Chinese,  Japanese,  and 
Koreans,  can  get  along  with  less  sleep  than  any 
other  of  the  world's  people;  and  Jo,  in  spite  of  having 
travelled  and  learned  to  speak  English,  still  was  a 
true  Mongolian.  Therefore,  he  awoke  quite  refreshed 
after  two  hours  of  sleep,  and,  moving  with  the  ut- 
most caution,  so  as  not  to  arouse  Rob,  he  left  their 
strange  hiding-place,  carefully  closing  and  fastening 
its  door  behind  him.  Then  he  swiftly  made  his  way 
back  to  the  city,  where  he  skirted  its  wall  to  the 
farther  side,  and  forced  an  entrance  through  a  now 
dry  culvert  or  water  -  gate.  After  showing  himself 
at  the  several  guard-houses,  that,  if  necessary,  he 
afterwards  might  be  able  to  prove  his  presence  in 
the  city  that  night,  he  went  to  his  own  quarters, 
where  he  made  preparations  for  a  journey.  He  or- 
dered a  horse  to  be  brought,  saddled,  and  ready 
for  travel,  and  sent  for  his  lieutenant,  a  man  who, 
though  older  than  he,  was  possessed  of  so  little  in- 
fluence as  still  to  be  under  the  orders  of  his  junior. 

To  this  officer  Jo  turned  over  command  of  the 
guard,  telling  him  that  he  considered  the  escape  of 
the  foreign  devil,  who  had  eluded  them  by  the  exer- 

160 


AN    EXHIBITION    OF    THE    RAIN-GOD'S   ANGER    l6l 

cise  of  magic  arts,  to  be  an  event  of  such  grave  im- 
portance that  he  was  about  to  report  it  in  person 
at  Pao-Ting-Fu,  and  possibly  to  Pekin  itself.  The 
young  captain  named  these  places  in  order  to  throw 
possible  pursuit  off  the  scent,  for  he  had  decided  to 
carry  Rob  in  exactly  the  opposite  direction,  or  back 
over  the  way  he  had  come,  to  Hankow.  Having 
thus  arranged  affairs  to  his  satisfaction,  he  set  forth 
at  sunrise,  riding  by  way  of  the  very  gate  through 
which  Rob  had  made  so  hasty  an  entrance  the  day 
before. 

Jo  was  ready  to  leave  the  city  a  full  hour  earlier 
than  this,  and  wanted  to  do  so;  but  even  greater 
authority  than  his  would  be  insufficient  to  open  the 
gates  of  any  Chinese  city  before  sunrise,  and  so  he 
was  forced  to  await  that  hour. 

Once  in  the  open  he  rode  with  all  speed,  hoping 
to  reach  the  temple  of  the  rain-god  before  any  wor- 
shippers should  appear,  and  while  Rob  still  slept. 
In  this,  however,  he  was  disappointed,  for,  though 
he  reached  the  temple  in  advance  of  the  priests  who 
served  it,  and  who,  having  joined  in  the  pursuit  of 
the  foreigner,  had  been  forced  to  spend  the  night 
in  the  city,  he  was  dismayed  to  find  a  certain  num- 
ber of  worshippers  kotowing  and  burning  incense 
before  the  great  image.  These  were  wretched 
farmers  from  the  near-by  country,  who,  having  no 
work  to  do  in  their  burned-up  fields,  and  with  death 
from  starvation  staring  them  in  the  face,  had  come 
in  desperation  to  the  only  source  they  knew  of  from 
which  aid  might  be  asked. 


l62  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

Another  company  of  these  people,  who  reached  the 
place  at  the  same  time  with  Jo,  were  provided  with 
fire-crackers,  with  which  they  proposed  to  arouse  the 
god's  attention  if  he  should  happen  to  be  asleep.  A 
bunch  was  exploded  as  soon  as  they  entered  the  tem- 
ple, and  to  their  awed  delight  the  efficacy  of  this  pro- 
ceeding was  immediately  apparent,  for  the  image  of 
the  rain-god  trembled,  and  a  muffled  sound  came 
from  its  interior.  Evidently  the  god,  who  alone  was 
all-powerful  in  this  emergency,  had  been  asleep,  but 
now  was  awaking  to  the  gravity  of  the  situation. 
With  heads  in  the  dust,  the  worshippers  humbly 
bowed  before  his  image  and  implored  his  aid.  Loud- 
est of  them  all  was  the  young  officer  who  had  forced 
a  way  to  the  very  front  of  the  assemblage. 

His  prayer  was  in  Chinese,  of  the  mandarin  dia- 
lect, which  no  one  present,  except  he,  understood. 
Strange  as  it  was  to  the  ears  of  his  fellow-worship- 
pers, it  also  contained  words  of  another  tongue  still 
stranger,  that  their  ignorance  did  not  permit  them 
to  recognize.  Thus  Jo  was  able  to  call  out,  under 
guise  of  a  prayer,  and  undetected: 

"It's  all  right,  Rob.  I  am  here,  and  we  are  safe 
so  long  as  you  keep  quiet." 

At  this  point  some  one  at  the  back  of  the  temple 
uttered  a  loud  cry,  at  which  all  the  bowed  heads 
were  raised.  Jo  looked  up  with  the  others,  and,  to 
his  dismay,  saw  the  great  right  arm  of  the  god 
slowly  lifting  as  though  to  impose  silence  upon 
those  who  persisted  in  annoying  him  with  their  un- 
welcome clamor.  At  this  phenomenon  the  super- 


AN    EXHIBITION    OF    THE    RAIN-GOD'S    ANGER     163 

stitious  spectators  gazed  in  breathless  suspense,  and 
when  the  arm  suddenly  dropped  back  into  its  former 
position  they  sprang  to  their  feet. 

They  were  not  so  much  frightened  as  they  were 
awed;  for  in  China  it  has  often  happened  that  the 
gods  have  seemed  to  enter  certain  of  their  own  earth- 
ly images,  and  by  well-understood  movements  or 
sounds  have  caused  these  to  express  their  will  to 
the  people.  It  was  reported  that  the  very  image  of 
the  rain-god  now  under  observation  had  been  thus 
favored,  and  upon  previous  occasions  of  grave  im- 
portance had  made  motions  of  the  arms  or  head  that 
only  the  priests  could  interpret.  So  the  people  now 
waited  in  terrified  but  eager  expectation. 

Nor  were  they  disappointed;  for  no  sooner  had 
the  arm  dropped  than  the  head  of  the  image,  which 
was  big  enough  to  hold  a  man,  was  seen  to  be  in 
motion.  It  certainly  was  bending  forward  and  as- 
suming an  attitude  benign,  but  so  terrifying  that  the 
awe-stricken  spectators  instinctively  pressed  back- 
ward. As  they  gazed  with  dilated  eyes  and  quak- 
ing souls  the  great  head  was  bowed  farther  and 
farther  forward,  until  suddenly,  with  a  convulsive 
movement,  it  was  seen  to  part  from  its  supporting 
shoulders  and  leap  into  the  air. 

The  crash  with  which  that  vast  mass  of  painted 
and  gilded  clay  struck  the  stone  pavement,  where 
it  was  shattered  into  a  thousand  fragments,  was 
echoed  by  shrieks  of  terror  as  the  dismayed  behold- 
ers of  this  dire  calamity  plunged  in  headlong  flight 
from  the  temple.  Never  before  in  all  the  annals  of 


164  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

priesthood  had  been  recorded  a  manifestation  of 
godly  anger  so  frightful  and  so  unmistakable.  From 
this  time  on,  that  particular  temple  of  the  rain-god 
was  a  place  accursed  and  to  be  shunned;  for  if 
after  this  warning  any  person  should  enter  it,  he 
would  be  crushed  to  death  beneath  the  body  of  the 
idol,  which  surely  would  fall  on  him. 

So  the  people  fled,  spreading  far  and  wide  the 
dreadful  news,  and  only  one  among  them  dared 
return  to  the  temple  and  brave  the  rain-god's  an- 
ger. This  one,  of  course,  was  Jo,  who,  startled  and 
alarmed  by  what  had  taken  place,  had  fled  with 
the  others.  But  he  had  paused  while  still  within 
the  shelter  of  the  grove,  and,  flinging  himself  to  the 
ground  for  concealment,  had  allowed  the  others  to 
pass  on  without  him.  When  all  had  disappeared 
he  arose  and  returned  to  the  temple.  As  he  re- 
entered  its  dust-clouded  doorway  he  was  confront- 
ed by  a  spectacle  at  once  so  amazing  and  so  absurd 
that  for  an 'instant  he  gazed  at  it  bewildered.  Then 
he  burst  into  almost  uncontrollable  laughter. 

The  image  of  the  rain-god  already  had  acquired  a 
new  head,  dishevelled  and  dust-covered,  to  be  sure, 
but  one  endowed  with  speech  as  well  as  with  motion , 
and  which,  when  Jo  first  saw  it,  was  violently  cough- 
ing. 

"I  say,  Jo  Lee,"  called  out  a  husky  voice  from 
this  new  feature  of  the  giant  image,  "  I  think  it  was 
a  mean  trick  to  go  off  and  leave  me  shut  up  in  that 
beastly  place.  I  mighty  near  smothered  in  there, 
and  I  don't  suppose  I  ever  would  have  got  out  if 


AN    EXHIBITION    OF    THE    RAIN-GOD'S    ANGER     165 

an  earthquake  or  something  hadn't  happened.  It 
almost  shook  down  the  whole  house,  and  it  knocked 
the  roof  off  as  it  was,  nearly  burying  me  in  falling 
plaster  besides." 

"It  isn't  a  house,"  explained  Jo,  laughing  hyster- 
ically in  spite  of  his  habitual  Chinese  self-control. 
"It's  the  image  of  a  god.  Don't  you  remember 
crawling  into  it  last  night?  I  don't  know  how  its 
head  happened  to  tumble  off,  but  I  expect  you  did 
it  yourself.  And  now  you  have  managed  to  give  it 
a  new  one,  a  hundred  times  more  useful  but  not  half 
so  good  looking.  I  never  in  all  my  life  saw  any- 
thing so  funny,  and  if  you  only  could  see  yourself, 
you'd  laugh,  too." 

"Maybe  I  would,"  replied  Rob,  with  a  tone  of 
injured  dignity;  "but  if  you  were  as  battered  and 
choked  as  I  am,  you  wouldn't  laugh — I  know  that 
much.  Of  course,  I  remember  now  all  about  this 
thing  being  a  god,  only  I  was  so  confused  when  I 
woke  up  that  I  forgot  all  about  where  I  was.  I  only 
knew  that  there  had  been  an  explosion  of  some  kind, 
and  that  I  should  smother  if  I  didn't  get  out.  I 
could  see  a  little  light  up  above  and  tried  to  climb 
to  it  by  some  ropes  that  I  found  dangling.  Two 
of  them  gave  way  slowly,  while  a  third  was  so 
rotten  that  it  gave  way  mighty  sudden.  Then 
came  the  earthquake  and  an  avalanche  of  mud 
that  nearly  buried  me ;  but  I  managed  somehow 
to  climb  on  top  of  it,  and  here  I  am.  Now  I 
want  to  get  down  and  out,  for  I  don't  like  the 
place." 


166  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

"All  right.  Drop  down  inside,  and  I  will  open 
the  door." 

Accepting  this  advice,  Rob  withdrew  the  head 
that  had  looked  so  absurdly  small  on  top  of  that 
great  image,  and  in  another  minute  slid  out  of  the 
open  doorway  far  below,  in  company  with  a  quantity 
of  debris. 

"Whew!"  he  gasped.  "That  was  a  sure  enough 
dust-bath.  Now  let  us  get  outside  and  into  an  at- 
mosphere that  isn't  quite  so  thick  with  mud." 

"Wouldn't  you  rather  remain  in  here  and  live 
than  go  out  and  meet  a  certain  death?"  asked  Jo, 
quietly. 

"Of  course;  but,  even  so,  we  can't  always  stay 
shut  up  in  this  old  rat-trap." 

"No,  but  it  will  be  safer  to  leave  at  night,  and 
also  we  have  much  to  do  before  we  shall  be  ready." 

"Have  we?"  asked  Rob.     "What,  for  instance?" 

"It  is  my  plan  that  you  should  travel  as  a  priest 
under  a  vow  of  silence,  until  we  reach  Hankow,  while 
I  go  as  your  servant.  If  it  is  agreed,  then  must  your 
head  be  shaved  in  priestly  fashion,  your  skin  must 
be  stained  a  darker  color,  and  we  must  obtain  gar- 
ments suitable." 

"That's  all  right,  so  far  as  the  priest  business  is 
concerned,  if  you  think  I  can  act  the  character;  but 
you  are  way  off  when  you  talk  about  going  to  Han- 
kow, for  I  am  not  bound  in  that  direction.  You 
see,  I  have  just  come  from  there  and  am  on  my  way 
to  Pekin." 

"But  the  road  to  Pekin  is  filled  with  danger." 


AN    EXHIBITION    OF    THE    RAIN-GOD'S    ANGER     167 

"So  is  the  road  to  Hankow.  I  ought  to  know, 
for  I  have  come  over  it,  and  I  am  certain,  from  the 
posters  I  saw  displayed  in  every  town,  that  Ho-nan 
is  a  Boxer  province  by  this  time.  Besides,  Han- 
kow is  twice  as  far  away  as  Pekin." 

"It  is  reported  that  all  foreigners  in  Pekin  have 
been  killed." 

"Including  members  of  the  legations?" 

"So  it  is  said." 

"Well,  then,  the  report  can't  be  true.  In  the 
first  place,  the  foreign  ministers  would  have  called 
in  troops  of  their  own  countries  for  protection  upon 
the  first  intimation  of  danger.  In  the  second  place, 
to  kill  a  foreign  minister  is  to  declare  war  against 
that  minister's  country;  and  I  don't  believe  that 
even  the  Chinese  government  is  so  foolish  as  to 
declare  war  against  the  whole  world.  At  the  same 
time,  if  there  is  to  be  any  fighting  I  want  to  be 
where  I  can  see  it,  or  at  least  know  about  it,  which 
is  another  reason  for  going  to  Pekin.  Besides,  I 
must  go  there,  for  it  is  in  Pekin  that  I  am  to  get 
news  of  my  mother  and  father.  Only  think,  I  don't 
even  know  for  certain  if  they  are  alive.  If  you 
didn't  know  that  about  your  family,  wouldn't  you 
want  to  go  where  you  could  find  out?" 

Jo  admitted  that  he  would. 

"By -the -way,"  continued  Rob,  "speaking  of 
families,  I  thought  you  had  a  wife.  Where  is  she? 
Are  you  going  to  take  her  with  us  to  Pekin?  Wasn't 
she  awfully  glad  to  see  you  when  you  got  back  from 
America?" 


l68  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

For  the  second  time  that  day  the  young  Chinese 
laughed.  "Yes,"  he  replied,  "I  have  a  wife.  I 
think  she  is  in  Canton,  for  that  is  where  my  father 
left  her  when  he  came  north.  No,  I  am  not  going 
to  take  her  to  Pekin.  No,  she  was  not  glad  to  see 
me  when  I  came  back  from  America,  for  she  has 
not  yet  seen  me." 

"If  I  had  only  known  your  wife  was  in  Canton, 
and  where  to  find  her,  I  should  have  called,"  said 
Rob,  soberly. 

The  idea  thus  presented  was  so  absurd  that  Jo 
laughed  again  as  at  a  good  joke,  for  in  China  no  man 
ever  calls  on  the  wife  of  another. 


CHAPTER  XX 
ROB    MAKES    A    STARTLING    DISCOVERY 

FINDING  Rob  determined  to  go  to  Pekin,  Jo 
yielded,  though  with  many  misgivings,  and  at  once 
began  preparations  for  their  dangerous  journey. 
Thanks  to  the  general  terror  inspired  by  the  fall  of 
the  rain-god's  head,  the  lads  were  secure  from  in- 
terruption so  long  as  they  remained  in  the  temple. 
Having  thought  over  his  plan  the  evening  before, 
Jo  had  brought  with  him  from  the  city  a  number 
of  things  necessary  to  carrying  it  out.  Among 
them  were  shears  and  a  razor,  with  which  he  removed 
every  trace  of  hair  from  Rob's  head,  after  the  fashion 
of  the  lamas  or  priests  of  Buddha.  Then  his  whole 
body,  from  the  crown  of  his  head  to  the  soles  of  his 
feet,  was  tinted  yellow  with  a  dye  that  would  have 
to  wear  off,  since  it  never  could  be  washed  away. 
He  was  further  disguised  in  priestly  robes  of  yellow, 
and,  worst  of  all,  was  finally  obliged  to  give  up  his 
cherished  boots  in  favor  of  sandals,  which  of  all 
forms  of  foot-wear  he  most  despised.  For  head- 
covering  he  was  given  a  priest's  huge  straw  hat, 
as  large  as  a  small  umbrella. 

As  neither  of  the  lads  was  sufficiently  expert  in 
"making  up"  features  to  change  Rob's  wide-open 

169 


170  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

eyes  into  oblique  slits,  he  submitted  to  the  wearing 
of  big,  round,  shell  -  rimmed,  smoked  -  glass  spec- 
tacles, found  among  the  temple  properties.  An- 
other thing  there  obtained  was  an  inscribed  iron 
tablet  that  had  hung  upon  the  breast  of  the  rain- 
god,  and  to  carry  this  to  Pekin  was  to  be  the  osten- 
sible reason  for  their  journey  in  that  direction. 
Also  the  silence  with  which  Rob  was  to  conceal  his 
ignorance  of  the  northern  dialect  was  to  be  ex- 
plained as  being  imposed  by  a  vow  not  to  speak  a 
word,  even  in  prayer,  until  he  had  safely  deposited 
that  holy  tablet  in  the  great  Pekin  temple  of  the 
rain -god.  The  only  bit  of  property  formerly  be- 
longing to  him  that  he  was  allowed  to  retain  was 
his  revolver,  which,  together  with  a  belt  full  of 
cartridges,  was  concealed  beneath  his  robe. 

As  their  changed  plan  was  to  carry  them  in  the 
very  direction  Jo  had  announced  his  intention  of 
taking  before  leaving  the  city,  he  decided  to  main- 
tain his  character  as  an  officer  of  imperial  troops, 
escorting  the  priest,  rather  than  to  assume  that  of 
a  servant,  as  he  at  first  had  proposed.  Thus  he 
would  be  able  to  ride  horseback,  carry  weapons  in 
plain  sight,  and  disburse  money  for  many  comforts 
that  a  priest's  servant  could  not  obtain. 

With  these  preparations  completed,  our  lads 
waited  impatiently  for  darkness,  and  no  sooner  had 
it  descended  than  they  set  forth,  exercising  great 
caution  in  leaving  the  temple  grove,  but  after  that 
travelling  as  briskly  as  Jo  could  walk.  The  latter 
insisted  that  Rob,  being  unused  to  sandals,  should 


ROB    MAKES    A    STARTLING    DISCOVERY  171 

ride  his  pony,  while  he  proceeded  on  foot  until  they 
could  beg,  borrow,  steal,  or  buy  another. 

They  had  gone  but  a  few  li,  or  Chinese  miles, 
each  of  which  equals  about  one-third  of  an  English 
mile,  when  they  heard  the  steady  beat  of  a  horse's 
hoofs,  accompanied  by  a  grinding  noise  as  of  ma- 
chinery. After  listening  until  he  located  the  sound 
as  coming  from  a  field  at  one  side  of  the  road,  Jo 
crept  softly  in  that  direction.  He  quickly  discovered 
a  horse,  attached  to  a  long,  wooden  beam,  travel- 
ling in  a  monotonous  circle,  and  thus  lifting  an  end- 
less chain  of  earthen  jars  full  of  water  from  a  deep 
well.  Each,  as  it  came  to  the  surface,  emptied 
itself  into  an  irrigating  ditch,  and  then  went  down 
to  be  refilled.  All  this  was  simple  enough,  and  did 
not  particularly  interest  Jo,  for  he  had  seen  hundreds 
of  just  such  irrigating  plants  in  operation  all  over 
the  great  plain.  Heretofore,  however,  a  prominent 
feature  of  the  outfit  had  been  the  man  or  boy  who, 
armed  with  a  bamboo  whip,  had  kept  the  horse 
awake  and  at  work;  but  here  no  human  figure  was 
to  be  distinguished.  At  the  same  time,  there  was  a 
sound  of  blows,  delivered  at  regular  intervals,  each 
of  which  inspired  the  horse  to  fresh  exertion.  Finally, 
becoming  convinced  that,  in  spite  of  the  blows,  there 
was  no  person  in  the  vicinity,  Jo  went  closer  to 
determine  their  origin.  At  the  machine  he  found 
working  a  scheme  so  practical,  simple,  and  ingenious 
as  to  arouse  his  admiration — a  section  of  stiff  but 
springy  bamboo,  and  a  stout  cord  fixed  on  the  beam 
to  which  the  horse  was  attached.  That  was  all. 


172  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

Three  revolutions  of  the  beam  wound  up  the  cord 
and  sprung  back  the  bamboo.  At  the  beginning  of 
the  fourth  revolution  the  cord  suddenly  was  slack- 
ened, and  the  liberated  bamboo  struck  the  horse  a 
blow  across  the  hind  quarters.  Nor  did  these  blows 
always  descend  at  the  same  point  of  the  circle  or 
at  regular  intervals,  since  their  frequency  depended 
upon  the  speed  of  the  horse,  who,  being  blindfolded, 
was  thus  made  to  believe  that  he  was  at  the  mercy 
of  some  constantly  alert  though  invisible  person. 

So  impressed  was  Jo  with  the  ingenuity  of  this 
contrivance  that  he  went  back  to  persuade  Rob  to 
come  and  see  it.  The  latter  did  so,  though  some- 
what unwillingly,  not  caring  to  waste  time  over 
Chinese  inventions  just  then;  but  when  he  had  ap- 
proached close  enough  to  the  horse  to  discern  its 
markings,  he  exclaimed:  "Hello!  That's  my  pony! 
The  very  one  I  was  riding  yesterday  when  the  rain- 
dancers  got  after  me.  And  here  he  is,  being  made 
to  work  all  night  by  an  infernal  machine.  I  never 
heard  of  anything  so  disgusting.  Here!  whoa,  you 
beast !  You  have  done  the  tread-mill  act  long  enough , 
and  now  we'll  put  you  to  a  better  service." 

Thus  it  happened  that  the  very  ingenuity  of  this 
inventor  of  perpetual  motion,  by  which  he  gained 
a  few  hours  of  sleep,  also  caused  him  a  heavy  loss; 
for,  had  he  been  on  hand,  Jo  would  have  bought 
the  horse  from  him  at  his  own  price,  while  Rob 
would  not  have  appeared  on  the  scene  at  all. 

As  no  saddle  could  be  found  near  the  tread-mill, 
Jo  was  forced  to  ride  bareback  until  they  reached 


ROB    MAKES    A    STARTLING    DISCOVERY  173 

a  town  where  one  could  be  purchased.  At  this 
same  town  they  slept  a  few  hours,  during  which 
their  horses  also  rested  and  were  liberally  fed  on 
beans  and  chopped  bamboo  grass.  Our  young 
travellers  were  again  on  the  road  by  sunrise,  and 
after  this  they  pushed  ahead  with  all  speed  for  the 
greater  part  of  a  week,  riding  early  and  late,  but 
taking  long  rests  in  the  middle  of  each  day. 

Although  as  a  priest  and  an  officer  of  imperial 
troops  they  were  suffered  to  pass,  without  delay, 
many  points  at  which  any  other  class  of  travellers 
would  have  been  detained  for  rigorous  examination, 
they  met  with  ever -increasing  evidences  of  trouble 
as  they  advanced  northward.  Everywhere  they 
came  across  dead  bodies,  ruined  buildings,  and  oc- 
casionally whole  villages  swept  by  fire.  Everywhere 
people  gazed  on  them  with  suspicion  or  fled  at  their 
coming.  They  heard  of  the  great  Boxer  army 
gathering  near  Pekin,  and  encountered  numerous 
small  bodies  of  armed  men  hastening  to  swell  its 
ranks.  Also  they  came  into  constant  contact  with 
prowling  bands  of  starving  peasantry.  Several 
times,  in  order  to  escape  from  the  latter,  our  lads 
joined  themselves  to  one  or  another  of  the  Boxer 
companies,  and  remained  with  it  until  the  immediate 
danger  was  passed.  Then,  on  the  plea  of  urgent 
haste,  they  would  push  ahead. 

Finally,  when  thus  travelling  with  a  company 
who  would  have  hacked  them  to  bits  had  they  dis- 
covered their  identity,  they  crossed  the  Hu-Tho-ho 
(the  river  that  goes  where  it  pleases)  and  approached 


174  -THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

the  walled  city  of  Cheng  -  Ting  -  Fu.  In  this  city 
stands  a  Roman  Catholic  cathedral,  built  of  stone, 
and  having  a  massive  square  tower  that  looms  like 
a  great  fortress  above  the  low  roofs  of  the  surround- 
ing temples  and  native  dwellings. 

In  this  stronghold  were  many  foreign  refugees, 
priests,  nuns,  and  Belgian  engineers  who  had  been 
engaged  on  the  railway  running  south  from  Pekin; 
also  several  American  missionaries  who,  wounded 
and  plundered  of  everything,  had  gained  this  asylum 
barely  in  time  to  save  their  lives. 

For  more  than  a  month  the  great  gate  of  Cheng- 
Ting-Fu  had  been  kept  closed  to  all  companies  of 
friends  and  foes  alike,  only  a  little  wicket  being  oc- 
casionally opened  for  the  passage  in  or  out  of  one  or 
two  persons  at  a  time.  In  addition  to  this  precau- 
tion, which  was  taken  by  the  Chinese  authorities  of 
the  city,  the  foreign  refugees  inside  the  cathedral 
were  compelled  to  remain  hidden  behind  its  stout 
doors  for  fear  lest  their  appearance  on  the  streets 
should  excite  the  local  population  to  acts  of  vio- 
lence. On  the  sandy  plain  beyond  the  city  wall  was 
a  large  and  ever-changing  encampment  of  Boxers 
thirsting  for  foreign  blood,  undisciplined  soldiers, 
highwaymen,  and  outlaws  of  every  description. 

Upon  reaching  Cheng-Ting-Fu  our  lads,  wearied 
by  a  day  of  continuous  riding,  felt  that  they  could 
go  no  farther  that  night.  In  fact,  there  was  no 
place  for  them  to  go  to  nearer  than  the  city  of  Pao- 
Ting-Fu,  a  long  day's  journey  away,  so  bare  had 
this  section  of  country  been  swept  of  inhabitants. 


ROB    MAKES    A    STARTLING    DISCOVERY  175 

At  the  same  time,  they  regarded  with  dismay  the 
prospect  of  spending  a  night  amid  the  horrors  and 
dangers  of  the  lawless  outside  camp,  where  robbery 
and  murder  were  committed  unchecked  and  un- 
punished at  all  hours  of  day  and  night. 

"We  must  try  to  get  inside  the  wall,"  said  Jo,  in 
a  low  tone,  "for  if  we  stay  out  here  it  is  pretty  cer- 
tain that  neither  of  us  will  live  to  see  another  sun- 
rise." 

With  this  they  turned  their  jaded  ponies  towards 
the  city  gate  and  rode  to  it,  followed  at  a  short  dis- 
tance by  a  small  crowd  of  pig-tailed  cut-throats,  who 
only  awaited  a  favorable  opportunity  for  making 
a  rush  upon  them.  So  desperately  hungry  were 
these  wretches  that  they  joyfully  would  have  killed 
even  a  priest  and  an  imperial  officer  for  sake  of  the 
meagre  food-supply  represented  by  the  animals  they 
rode. 

At  the  gate  Jo's  demand  for  admittance  was  at 
first  received  with  stout  refusal  by  a  guard  who 
gazed  carelessly  at  the  travellers  from  behind  a 
small,  heavily  barred  opening.  Fortunately,  Jo 
still  had  money  with  him,  and  a  handful  of  silver, 
temptingly  displayed,  finally  unclosed  the  coveted 
entrance.  As  the  wicket  opened,  the  starving 
rabble,  seeing  their  prey  about  to  escape  them, 
made  their  threatened  rush;  but  Jo,  leaping  to 
the  ground  and  calling  on  Rob  to  get  the  horses 
through  the  gate,  held  them  at  bay  with  his  re- 
volver. Only  one  minute  was  necessary,  for  the 
ponies,  as  though  aware  of  their  danger,  scrambled 


176  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

through  the  narrow  wicket  like  cats.  Rob  followed 
close  at  their  heels;  Jo,  firing  one  shot  over  the 
heads  of  the  crowd  for  effect,  sprang  after  him,  and 
the  gate  was  slammed  shut,  not  again  to  be  opened 
that  night. 

Even  now  the  officer  of  the  guard,  who  had  yielded 
to  a  silver  influence,  dared  not  give  the  strangers 
the  freedom  of  the  city;  but,  under  threat  of  again 
being  thrust  outside,  compelled  their  promise  to 
spend  the  night  in  a  temple  to  which  he  would  con- 
duct them,  without  attempting  to  leave  it  before 
morning.  Also,  they  must  not  hold  communication 
with  a  soul  outside  the  temple  walls,  and  they  must 
depart  from  the  city  at  sunrise. 

When  Jo  had  given  this  promise  in  words,  and 
Rob  had  assented  to  it  by  nodding  his  priestly  head, 
they  were  conducted  to  the  temple  selected  as  their 
lodging  under  an  escort  of  soldiers  detailed  to  act 
as  their  guard  during  the  night.  On  their  way  the 
travellers,  thus  cautiously  welcomed,  gazed  curiously 
about  them  at  the  sights  of  the  beleaguered  city, 
and  especially  at  the  grim  walls  of  the  great  cathe- 
dral uplifted  above  its  houses.  Especially  was  Rob 
affected  by  this  ecclesiastical  fortress,  which  at  that 
very  moment  was  giving  safe  shelter  to  persons  of 
his  own  race. 

As  they  passed  it  he  stared  hard  at  a  row  of  nar- 
row windows,  with  the  hope  of  seeing  an  American 
face,  but  none  presented  itself  until  the  last  window 
was  reached.  In  it  was  dimly  outlined  the  form 
of  a  woman  who  turned  upon  the  passers-by  a  face 


ROB    MAKES    A    STARTLING    DISCOVERY  177 

expressive  of  hopeless  weariness.  She  gave  them 
one  listless  glance  and  then  stepped  from  sight,  but 
that  fleeting  view  caused  Rob  Hinckley  to  utter  a 
choking  exclamation  and  to  reel  in  his  saddle  until 
only  a  supreme  effort  saved  him  from  falling.  He 
had  seen  his  mother. 


CHAPTER  XXI 
THE    REFUGEES    OF    CHENG-TING-FU 

THE  malady  with  which  Dr.  Mason  Hinckley  had 
lain  critically  ill  at  Wu-Hsing  was  of  so  strange  a 
nature  that,  directly  after  the  cablegram  calling 
Rob  to  his  supposed  death -bed  was  sent,  it  took  a 
surprising  turn  for  the  better.  As  he  longed  for  a 
change  of  air  and  scene,  and  felt  that  with  them  a 
full  recovery  of  health  might  be  effected,  he  decided 
to  resign  his  position  at  Wu  -  Hsing  and,  with  his 
wife,  travel  as  far  as  Nagasaki.  There  they  would 
meet  the  steamer  on  which,  as  they  had  been  noti- 
fied by  cable  from  America,  Rob  was  coming  to 
them,  and  the  reunited  family  would  spend  to- 
gether a  delightful  holiday  on  the  lovely  Japanese 
coast. 

So  they  set  forth  full  of  hopeful  anticipations, 
and  travelled  down  the  Si-Kiang  to  Hong -Kong, 
where  they  were  so  fortunate  as  to  find  the  China 
on  the  point  of  sailing  for  San  Francisco  by  way  of 
Nagasaki.  At  Hong-Kong  they  told  an  acquaint- 
ance who  assisted  the  invalid  to  a  carriage  that 
they  were  going  to  Japan  to  meet  an  American 
steamer;  but  in  the  confusion  of  the  moment  he 
understood  them  to  say  that  they  were  going  to 

178 


THE  REFUGEES  OF  CHENG-TING-FU      179 

America,  and  so  reported  to  Mr.  Bishop,  who,  in 
turn,  repeated  the  story  to  Rob  a  few  weeks  later. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  doctor  and  his  wife  journey- 
ed to  Nagasaki,  the  former  so  gaining  strength  with 
every  mile  of  the  voyage  that  upon  reaching  Japan 
he  deemed  himself  to  be  practically  a  well  man. 
Thus  they  were  prepared  to  give  Rob  a  most  joyful 
surprise ;  but  when,  only  three  days  after  their  own 
arrival,  the  Occidental  steamed  into  Nagasaki  har- 
bor, they  were  met  by  the  bitter  disappointment  of 
finding  that  their  boy  was  not  on  board.  From  the 
purser,  as  well  as  from  the  gentleman  who  had  taken 
Rob's  cabin,  they  learned  that  somehow  he  had 
missed  connection  and  had  been  left  behind.  After 
that  the  anxious  parents  waited  in  Nagasaki  a 
month,  boarding  every  incoming  ship  from  the 
States,  but  without  finding  their  boy  or  hearing  a 
word  from  him.  They  had  written  to  Hatton  im- 
mediately upon  their  arrival,  and  finally  from  there 
came  the  cable  message,  "Rob,  transport,  Manila." 

What  could  it  mean?  Why  had  their  boy  gone 
to  Manila?  Where  would  he  go  from  there ?  Where 
was  he  now?  How  in  the  world  did  he  happen  to 
be  on  board  a  transport?  Had  he  enlisted  in  the 
army?  These  and  a  thousand  other  equally  puz- 
zling questions  presented  themselves,  but  no  one 
of  them  was  accompanied  by  an  answer.  They 
had  received  news  of  the  murder  of  missionaries  at 
Wu-Hsing.  Could  Rob  have  reached  there  in  time 
to  become  involved  in  the  trouble?  If  so,  was  he 
alive  or  dead?  They  no  longer  could  remain  in 


l8o  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

Japan,  but  must  return  to  China  where  news  might 
more  readily  be  obtained.  So  they  sailed  for  Shang- 
hai, from  which  place  they  sent  letters  of  inquiry  to 
Manila,  Wu-Hsing,  Hong-Kong,  and  Canton. 

Then  ensued  another  month  of  anxious  waiting, 
during  which  Dr.  Hinckley,  now  restored  to  perfect 
health,  received  from  Pekin  a  fine  offer  to  become 
missionary  medical  director  for  the  province  of 
Shan-Si.  It  was  an  offer  that  he  gladly  would  have 
accepted  but  for  his  uncertainty  concerning  Rob. 

At  length  came  a  letter  from  Canton  informing 
the  anxious  parents  that  their  boy  had  been  there 
a  month  earlier,  but  almost  immediately  had  joined 
an  expedition  that  was  to  traverse  the  interior  from 
that  point  to  Pekin  in  the  interests  of  an  American 
railway  syndicate. 

Again  did  the  puzzled  parents  ask  each  other 
questions  concerning  the  erratic  movements  of  their 
son  that  neither  could  answer.  Finally,  Dr.  Hinck- 
ley said: 

"It  is  useless  to  worry  ourselves  any  more  about 
the  boy,  since  it  is  evident  that  he  has  passed  en- 
tirely beyond  our  reach.  He  is  in  God's  hands,  and 
that  there  is  some  good  reason  for  the  apparent 
strangeness  of  his  actions  will  sooner  or  later  be 
made  plain.  Let  us  be  thankful  that  he  is  alive 
and  in  the  same  country  as  ourselves.  Also,  we  now 
can  accept  that  offer  from  Pekin,  where,  as  it  seems, 
we  are  most  likely  to  meet  him." 

So  the  bewildered  but  still  hopeful  parents  took 
steamer  from  Shanghai  to  Tien-Tsin  and  rail  from 


THE    REFUGEES    OF    CHENG-TING-FU  l8l 

there  to  China's  capital,  at  that  time  a  wonderland 
of  mystery  to  the  greater  part  of  the  outside  world. 
From  Pekin  they  travelled  south  to  Cheng -Ting- 
Fu,  which  then  was  the  extreme  terminus  of  rail- 
way construction,  and  .here  Dr.  Hinckley  left  his 
wife,  while  he  should  go  on  by  horseback  to  Tai- 
Yuan,  the  capital  of  Shan-Si,  and  prepare  their  new 
home. 

Then,  almost  without  warning,  came  the  terrible 
Boxer  uprising,  sweeping  over  the  northern  prov- 
inces with  the  fatal  speed  of  a  storm-driven  prairie- 
fire.  From  every  direction  were  heard  reports  of 
murder  and  outrage — some  of  them  simple  relations 
of  actual  happenings,  others  gross  exaggerations 
based  upon  fact,  and  still  others  pure  inventions, 
but  all  equally  terrifying  to  the  handful  of  foreigners 
within  the  walls  of  Cheng-Ting-Fu.  A  little  later 
refugees,  bearing  evidence  of  the  terrible  sufferings 
through  which  they  had  passed,  began  to  straggle  in. 
Some  told  of  the  beheadings  and  burnings  to  death 
in  Pao-Ting-Fu  on  the  north,  and  others  of  the  fright- 
ful tragedies  enacted  in  Shan-Si  on  the  west,  by 
orders  of  the  infamous  governor,  Yu-Hsien,  credited 
with  being  the  originator  of  the  Great  Sword  So- 
ciety, and  who  was  the  most  vindictive  hater  of 
foreigners  in  all  China.  The  Shan-Si  refugees  re- 
ported that  one  day  in  Tai-Yuan  this  monster  per- 
sonally superintended  the  beheading  of  forty-five 
foreigners,  men,  women,  and  little  children,  besides 
a  much  larger  number  of  native  Christians;  and  on 
hearing  this,  Mrs.  Hinckley  lost  all  hope  of  ever 


182  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

again  seeing  the  husband  who  had  gone  to  prepare 
a  home  for  her  in  that  very  city.  Also,  she  mourned 
for  her  boy,  who,  if  he  had  carried  out  his  reported 
intention  of  traversing  the  interior  provinces  to 
Pekin,  must  have  been  overtaken  by  this  same  all- 
devouring  storm  of  wrath. 

Although  the  southern  end  of  the  railway  as  far 
as  Pao-Ting-Fu  was  kept  open  by  the  Chinese  for 
the  transportation  of  their  own  troops,  it  was  re- 
ported that  everything  north  of  that  point,  includ- 
ing the  telegraph-line,  had  been  destroyed.  Thus 
Cheng-Ting- Fu,  with  closed  gate  and  surrounded  by 
enemies,  was  cut  off  from  all  news  of  the  outside 
world.  Only  rumors  drifted  in,  and  these  were  of 
such  a  nature  that  the  handful  of  refugees  facing 
an  almost  certain  death  in  the  cathedral  believed 
themselves  to  be  the  only  foreigners  left  alive  in 
northern  China. 

Such  was  the  state  of  affairs  on  that  evening  of 
early  summer  when  Mrs.  Hinckley,  hopelessly  weary 
of  life,  happened  to  glance  from  one  of  the  cathedral 
windows  just  as  a  yellow-robed  priest  was  passing 
along  the  narrow  street.  She  turned  quickly  away, 
for,  of  all  Chinese,  the  priests  had  been  most  active 
in  persecuting  foreigners,  and  she  never  saw  one 
without  thinking  that  he  might  be  the  murderer  of 
either  her  husband  or  son. 

An  hour  later  the  "boy"  who  brought  in  her  light 
supper  of  tea  and  toast  laid  something  else  on  the 
tray  beside  it,  and  disappeared  without  having 
spoken.  For  a  minute  Mrs.  Hinckley  did  not  notice 


THE  REFUGEES  OF  CHENG-TING-FU      183 

the  strange  object,  but  finally  it  caught  her  eye, 
and  she  picked  it  up.  It  was  a  narrow  strip  about 
six  inches  long,  cut  from  the  dried  leaf  of  a  talipot 
palm,  the  material  used  instead  of  writing-paper 
in  certain  Buddhist  temples.  Characters  traced  on 
the  smooth  surface  with  a  sharp  stylus,  afterwards 
are  rubbed  with  lampblack,  which  brings  them  out 
in  bold  relief.  In  the  present  case,  to  Mrs.  Hinck- 
ley's  amazement,  she  found  the  strip  of  palm-leaf 
to  be  a  letter  written  in  English,  and  beginning, 
"My  own  dear  mother!" 

The  poor  woman  uttered  a  stifled  cry,  and  a  blur 
so  dimmed  her  eyes  that  for  a  moment  she  could 
read  no  more.  Then  it  passed,  and  she  eagerly 
scanned  the  following  message,  written  on  both 
sides  of  the  slip: 

"  I  could  hardly  believe  my  eyes  when  I  saw  you 
at  the  cathedral  window.  How  did  you  get  here? 
Where  is  father?  I  am  the  priest  who  rode  past  on 
horseback  with  a  guard  of  soldiers.  Am  safe  and 
on  way  to  Pekin.  They  will  not  let  me  come  to 
you,  nor  even  leave  this  temple  where  I  am  spend- 
ing the  night  under  guard.  I  must  go  on  at  sun- 
rise, when  they  will  put  us  out  of  the  city.  Jo  is 
with  me.  Perhaps  I  shall  again  pass  window,  so 
please  stand  in  same  place  on  chance.  I  will  come 
back  to  you  from  Pekin  quick  as  possible.  Don't 
worry  a  single  little  bit  about  me,  for  I  am  all  right. 
Your  own  loving  Rob. 

"Send  an  answer  by  the  one  who  gives  you  this." 

Over  and  over  did  the  happy  mother  read  this 


184  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

message  from  the  boy  whom  she  had  been  mourning 
as  dead,  until  she  knew  every  word  of  it  by  heart. 

Then,  on  a  leaf  torn  from  her  journal,  she  wrote 
with  lead -pencil  an  outpouring  of  love,  joy,  and 
anxiety  such  as  only  a  mother  situated  as  she  was 
could  write.  She  begged  Rob  to  be  careful,  for 
her  sake,  and  warned  him  of  the  danger  of  going 
to  Pekin,  though  she  added  that  if  his  father  still 
were  alive  that  city  would  be  the  most  likely  place 
in  which  to  obtain  news  of  him.  She  said  she 
should  remain  near  the  window  all  night  for  fear 
of  missing  her  boy  when  he  again  passed.  Then  the 
servant  came  for  the  untouched  tea-tray,  looked  at 
her  inquiringly,  and  she  only  had  time  to  sign: 
"Ever  your  own  devoted  mother,"  fold  the  note, 
and  slip  it  into  his  hand  ere  he  again  left  the  room. 

The  shock  of  seeing  his  mother  in  that  dreadful 
place,  when  he  had  supposed  her  to  be  safe  in 
America,  was  so  great  that  Rob  had  been  on  the 
point  of  proclaiming  his  amazement  aloud,  when  Jo, 
always  keenly  on  the  watch  for  some  such  slip  on 
the  part  of  the  pretended  priest,  checked  him. 

41  It  is  but  a  little  more  to  go,"  he  said  in  Chinese, 
so  that  all  who  heard  might  understand  him,  "and 
then  the  holy  one  shall  find  a  place  of  rest.  He  is 
very  weary,"  added  Jo  to  the  officer  of  the  guard, 
4 'and  his  vow  of  silence  sits  heavy  upon  him." 

44  Yet  he  does  not  look  so  old,"  replied  the  officer. 

44  It  is  true  that  he  is  well  preserved,  and  may  give 
us  the  joy  of  his  presence  for  some  years  to  come; 
but  mere  looks  cannot  restore  to  age  the  lost 


HE   WAS   ABLE   TO   GAZE   CALMLY    AT   HER    WHEN    THEY   ONCE 
MORE    WERE    ESCORTED    PAST    THE    CATHEDRAL" 


THE  REFUGEES  OF  CHENG-TING-FU      185 

strength  of  youth.  I  pray  you,  therefore,  find  for 
him  a  place  of  ^quietness,  where  he  may  have  a 
season  of  rest  undisturbed." 

Thus  it  came  about  that  a  small  building  of  the 
temple  to  which  our  lads  were  conducted  was  set 
apart  for  them,  and  orders  were  given  that  no  other 
person  should  enter  it  that  night. 

When  they  were  alone,  and  Rob  had  explained 
to  Jo  the  cause  of  his  excitement,  he  added:  "And 
now  I  must  go  to  her  for  a  long  talk." 

It  took  Jo  some  time  to  persuade  his  friend  of 
the  impossibility  of  what  he  proposed,  and  that 
to  attempt  it  would  only  endanger  all  their  lives, 
including  that  of  his  mother. 

"Then,"  said  Rob,  finally  convinced,  "I  must 
write,  and  you  must  somehow  manage  to  get  the 
letter  to  her." 

The  letter  was  prepared  with  the  only  materials 
that  the  temple  afforded,  and  by  the  liberal  use  of 
money  Jo  got  it  sent  to  its  destination  and  had 
the  answer  brought  back.  After  that,  much  as 
Rob  hated  to  leave  his  mother  behind,  he  had  the 
sense  to  realize  that  she  probably  was  safer  in  the 
cathedral  of  Cheng  -  Ting  -  Fu  just  then  than  she 
would  be  anywhere  else  in  north  China.  Also,  what 
she  had  written  concerning  the  possibility  of  gain- 
ing news  of  his  father  in  Pekin  made  him  more  than 
ever  desirous  of  reaching  that  city. 

Jo  warned  him  against  the  danger  of  allowing 
any  sign  of  recognition  to  escape  him  in  case  he 
again  saw  his  mother;  so  he  was  able  to  gaze  calm- 


l86  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

ly  at  her  the  next  morning  when  they  once  more 
were  escorted  past  the  cathedral,  and  she  stood 
at  the  same  window  watching  eagerly  for  him  to 
pass.  She,  too,  realized  the  danger  to  him  of  any 
show  of  interest  on  the  part  of  a  foreigner;  and  no 
one  could  have  guessed  from  their  faces,  as  they 
exchanged  farewell  glances,  that  thus  a  mother  and 
son,  with  a  full  knowledge  of  the  perils  besetting 
both,  were  parting,  perhaps  forever. 


CHAPTER  XXII 
A    CHARGE    AND    A    RACE    FOR    LIFE 

THERE  is  but  one  gateway  to  the  walled  city  of 
Cheng-Ting- Fu,  and  this  opens  on  the  west.  Con- 
sequently, it  was  on  this  side  that  most  of  the  Boxer 
rabble,  who  longed  for  an  opportunity  to  loot  the 
valuable  mission'  property  within  its  walls,  were 
gathered.  Their  object  was  to  starve  the  stubborn 
city  into  submission,  and  they  watched  always  for 
the  opening  of  its  gate  in  token  of  surrender.  If 
our  lads  had  been  willing  to  leave  their  ponies  in 
the  city,  they  could  have  been  let  down  from  the 
wall  on  an  opposite  side  and  made  good  their  escape 
on  foot.  This,  however,  they  would  not  do,  for 
without  horses  the  long  journey  still  before  them, 
through  a  region  swarming  with  footpads,  was  prac- 
tically impossible.  So  they  issued  from  the  wicket, 
which  instantly  was  closed  behind  them,  sprang 
into  their  saddles,  and  turned  northward,  hoping  to 
ride  for  some  distance  unnoticed  in  the  shadow  of 
the  lofty  wall. 

But  this  hope  was  doomed  to  a  quick  disappoint- 
ment, for  almost  instantly  they  were  discovered, 
and  a  crowd  of  men  were  seen  running  so  as  to 
head  them  off. 

187 


l88  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

"We've  got  to  ride  through  them,"  said  Rob, 
"and  shoot  down  any  one  who  tries  to  stop  us.  I 
will  go  first,  and  do  you  follow  close.  Don't  fire 
a  shot  until  my  pistol  is  empty;  then  I'll  drop  be- 
hind and  reload  while  you  clear  the  way.  It's  our 
only  show  for  life,  Jo.  Come  on!" 

With  this  Rob  wheeled  his  pony  and  dashed  at  full 
speed  straight  at  the  swarming  encampment,  with 
Jo  close  at  his  heels.  It  was  a  glorious  charge,  that 
of  two  against  a  thousand,  but  it  could  not  have 
lasted  a  minute  had  the  latter  been  anything  save 
a  wretched  rabble,  unprovided  with  fire-arms  and 
without  leaders.  As  it  was,  they  were  scattered 
like  chaff  by  the  madly  racing  ponies,  the  few  who 
attempted  interference  were  shot  down,  and  three 
minutes  later  our  lads,  still  yelling  with  excitement, 
drove  through  the  last  of  their  enemies  and  found 
themselves  safe  on  the  open  plain. 

"After  that  experience  I  would  undertake  to  ride 
through  the  whole  Chinese  army  with  twenty  Amer- 
ican cow-boys,"  boasted  Rob,  as  he  reined  his  pant- 
ing steed  down  to  a  walk. 

"Of  course,  it  might  be  done,"  answered  Jo, 
quietly,  "only  it  would  be  well  to  consider  that  an 
army  is  made  up  of  soldiers  provided  with  guns, 
and  that  even  a  Chinese  bullet  sometimes  finds  its 
mark." 

"I  beg  your  pardon,  old  fellow!  It  was  a  mean 
thing  to  say,"  cried  Rob,  contritely.  "I  ought  to 
be  ashamed  of  myself,  especially  when  I  remember 
how  splendidly  one  Chinese,  by  the  name  of  Jo  Lee, 


A    CHARGE    AND    A    RACE    FOR    LIFE  189 

rode  through  that  howling  mob  only  a  few  minutes 
ago.  But  Americans  can't  help  bragging,  you  know, 
and  I  surely  am  an  American." 

"  If  they  do  brag,"  replied  Jo,  "it  is  because  they 
have  so  much  to  brag  of,  while  my  poor  country  has 
so  little." 

"Your  country  has  a  history  older  than  that  of 
any  other  nation  on  earth,"  said  Rob,  consolingly; 
"and  you  invented  more  than  half  the  things  that 
go  to  making  the  civilization  of  the  world,  such  as 
the  compass,  and  printing,  and  gunpowder,  and  ever 
so  many  more ;  for  I  remember  our  history  teacher 
telling  us  about  them.  He  said  the  civilization  that 
started  in  China  thousands  of  years  ago  had  been 
spreading  westward  from  this  country  ever  since: 
first  over  Asia,  then  over  Europe,  and  finally  over 
America.  'At  length,'  he  said,  'the  great  wave  of 
enlightenment  has  swept  across  the  Pacific,  and 
again  is  making  itself  felt  on  the  coasts  of  Asia. 
Japan  already  is  uplifted  by  the  flood,  and  China, 
now  at  the  lowest  ebb  of  her  fortunes,  will  soon  feel 
the  life-giving  influence  of  the  rising  tide.' 

"I  remember  it  particularly,"  continued  Rob, 
"because,  of  course,  I  always  was  interested  in 
everything  about  China;  but  I  never  realized  just 
what  he  meant  until  I  came  back  and  saw  what  a 
splendid  country  this  has  been  and  what  a  splendid 
country  it  could  be  again.  Why,  Mr.  Bishop  said 
that  China's  wealth  of  coal  and  iron  alone  is  suffi- 
cient to  make  her  one  of  the  greatest  nations  of  the 
world." 


IQO  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

"I  expect  your  teacher  was  right  when  he  said 
that  China  was  at  the  lowest  point  of  her  fortunes," 
remarked  Jo.  "I  don't  see  how  she  could  very  well 
sink  any  lower,  and  she  will  stay  down  just  so  long 
as  the  Empress  Dowager  lives  and  rules  the  coun- 
try. She  hates  foreigners,  and  is  bitterly  opposed  to 
progress,  reformers,  and  changes  of  any  kind.  It  is 
certain  that  she  is  encouraging  and  helping  on  this 
Boxer  uprising,  for  if  she  wanted  to  she  could  have 
it  put  down  and  stamped  out  within  a  week.  I  told 
you  of  my  orders  not  to  interfere  with  them,  no 
matter  what  they  did,  and  while  we  were  charging 
through  that  encampment  just  now  I  caught  sight 
of  a  Boxer  banner  on  which  was  written :  '  By  Of- 
ficial Decree:  Exterminate  Foreigners.'  They  never 
would  dare  display  such  a  flag  if  they  didn't  really 
have  official  backing,  and  in  China  to-day  the  only 
'  official '  whose  word  is  law  is  the  Empress  Dowager." 

"  I  don't  see  how  you  found  time  to  read  what  was 
on  a  flag,"  said  Rob,  "or  even  to  notice  it.  I  didn't 
see  a  thing  except  the  crowd,  that  looked  like  so 
many  wolves  snarling  at  us,  and  especially  those 
who  tried  to  stop  us.  If  it  hadn't  been  for  our 
pistols  they  would  have  got  us  sure.  I  only  hope 
we  didn't  kill  any  of  them." 

"Why?"  asked  Jo.  "They  were  trying  to  kill  us, 
and  if  we  don't  look  out,"  he  added,  sharply,  "they 
will  do  it  yet." 

Thus  saying,  he  pointed  over  his  shoulder  to  a 
rapidly  advancing  cloud  of  dust,  moving  from  the 
direction  of  the  Boxer  encampment  they  had  so 


A    CHARGE    AND    A    RACE    FOR    LIFE  igi 

recently  charged.  The  dust -cloud  hung  above  a 
road  that  ran  parallel  to  the  direction  they  were 
taking.  In  fact,  it  was  the  road  over  which  they 
now  would  be  riding  had  the  bare  fields  that  they 
had  chosen  instead  been  covered  with  their  usual 
crops.  That  they  could  not  see  the  horsemen  r,ais- 
ing  the  dust  was  because  the  highway  along  which 
the  latter  were  moving  was  a  "low-way,"  worn  by 
generations  of  travel,  scoured  by  floods  in  winter 
and  swept  by  the  strong  winds  of  summer  until  it 
was  many  feet  below  the  level  of  the  adjoining 
land. 

Jo  was  convinced  that  the  dust-cloud  was  raised 
by  horsemen,  because  of  its  volume  and  its  rapid 
advance.  That  they  were  enemies  was  almost  cer- 
tain, since  they  came  from  the  direction  of  the 
angry  encampment;  and  he  believed  them  to  be 
endeavoring  to  cut  off  Rob  and  himself,  because 
otherwise  they,  too,  would  be  riding  across  the  open 
fields  instead  of  ploughing  through  the  smothering 
dust  of  the  gully-like  road. 

Our  lads  had  allowed  their  ponies  to  walk  for  the 
last  mile  or  so,  but  now  they  urged  them  forward 
at  a  brisk  "lope,"  for  they  were  determined  that 
no  man  nor  body  of  men  from  that  encampment 
should  get  in  advance  of  them  if  they  could  help  it. 
Every  few  seconds  one  or  the  other  of  them  glanced 
over  his  shoulder  at  the  dust-cloud,  to  see  if  they 
were  gaining  on  it,  and  finally  Rob  uttered  a  shout 
of:  "Here  they  come,  helter-skelter,  and  enough  of 
them  to  eat  us  alive  if  they  catch  us !  Now  we've 


IQ2  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

got  to  make  time.  Great  Scott!  They've  got  guns, 
too!" 

The  horsemen,  having  discovered  that  their  ob- 
ject was  suspected  and  that  their  prey  was  likely 
to  escape,  had  left  the  sunken  road  and  now  were 
streaming  across  the  fields  in  open  and  hot  pursuit. 
Also,  just  as  Rob  glanced  back,  one  of  them  fired 
a  shot,  though  where  the  bullet  went  to,  no  one 
knows.  Certainly,  it  did  no  harm  to  our  friends, 
but  the  shot  itself  filled  them  with  dismay,  as  it 
showed  their  present  pursuers  to  be  better  armed 
than  any  of  the  vagrant  bands  they  yet  had  en- 
countered. 

"I  believe  they  are  imperial  cavalry!"  exclaimed 
Jo.  "Yes,  I  am  sure  of  it,"  he  added,  a  moment 
later,  as  he  detected  a  triangular,  yellow  pennon 
fluttering  from  a  lance  borne  by  one  of  the  pursuing 
horsemen.  "They  must  have  been  sent  out  from 
the  city  and  must  have  some  reason  for  suspecting 
us.  I  wonder  if  it  has  become  known  that  we  com- 
municated with  your  mother?  That  would  be  a 
sufficient  cause  for  beheading  us  both  if  we  are 
caught,  so  we  must  not  be." 

"I  won't  be!"  declared  Rob,  clinching  his  teeth 
and  urging  his  pony  to  greater  effort.  "I'll  die 
first!" 

On  they  swept,  mile  after  mile,  over  the  parched 
land  and  under  a  blazing  sun.  How  they  longed 
for  rest  and  water  and  shade  and  coolness;  but 
none  of  those  things  were  for  them  so  long  as  that 
deadly  pursuit  was  kept  up.  It  did  not  seem  to 


A    CHARGE    AND    A    RACE    FOR    LIFE  193 

gain  on  them,  but  neither  did  it  lose  ground.  To 
be  sure,  some  of  the  cavalry -men  straggled,  so  that 
they  came  on  in  a  long,  irregular  line,  but  a  group 
of  half  a  dozen  leaders  kept  well  together. 

A  river  came  into  view,  and  Rob  wondered  what 
would  happen  when  they  reached  it.  He  began 
to  think  he  didn't  much  care  so  long  as  he  could 
get  a  drink  of  its  water.  All  at  once  he  almost 
jumped  from  his  saddle,  for  from  beyond  the  river 
came  a  sound  both  startling  and  familiar,  such  as 
he  had  not  heard  since  leaving  America.  At  Cheng- 
Ting-Fu  he  had  seen  the  torn-up  track  of  the  re- 
cently constructed  railway,  but  he  had  forgotten  it, 
as  he  also  had  the  fact  that  a  portion  of  it,  some- 
where to  the  northward,  still  was  in  working  order. 
Thus,  for  a  moment,  he  could  hardly  believe  to  be 
real  the  sound  that  came  echoing  across  the  Hsu- 
ho.  It  was  the  sharp  whistle  of  a  locomotive  call- 
ing for  brakes,  and  as  our  lads  plunged  down  the 
steep  river-bank  they  saw  a  train  of  open  "gon- 
dolas" slowly  backing  towards  the  stream  on  the 
opposite  side.  They  also  saw  a  crowd  of  people  ev- 
idently awaiting  its  coming. 

For  half  a  mile  they  forced  their  nearly  spent 
ponies  across  the  sand  and  gravel  of  the  dry  river- 
bottom.  Then  appeared  a  channel  so  shallow  as 
easily  to  be  forded.  Directly  from  this  rose  the 
steep  farther  bank,  and  in  an  effort  to  climb  it 
Rob's  exhausted  steed  fell  and  rolled  to  the  bottom, 
while  Jo's  pony  refused  even  to  attempt  the  ascent. 

Rob    disentangled   himself   from   the   struggling 


IQ4  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

beast,  and  gained  his  feet,  bruised  but  sound  in 
limb.  As  he  stood  up  a  yell  of  triumph  came  from 
across  the  narrow  water,  and  a  quick  glance  showed 
that  the  pursuing  Chinese  cavalry-men  were  close 
at  hand.  At  this  same  moment  Jo  sprang  from  his 
exhausted  pony. 

"We  must  run,"  he  cried,  "and  mix  with  the 
people  on  the  bank.  Perhaps  we  can  hide  in  one 
of  the  cars." 

So  the  lads,  one  still  in  the  yellow  robes  of  a  priest, 
and  the  other  in  the  dark -blue  blouse  with  red 
facings,  full  trousers,  and  short  boots  of  imperial 
troops,  dashed  up  the  bank  together  and  ran  tow- 
ards a  throng  of  soldiers  now  crowding  aboard  the 
cars,  as  though  they,  too,  sought  passage  on  the 
train. 

As  they  began  to  push  their  way  into  the  crowd, 
one  of  the  soldiers,  staring  hard  at  Rob,  uttered  an 
ejaculation  that  caused  Jo  to  turn  and  look  at  his 
friend  with  sudden  dismay.  In  the  haste  of  leaving 
their  ponies  and  running  for  the  train  he  had  not 
noticed  that  Rob  had  lost  both  his  priestly  head- 
covering  and  the  great,  shell-rimmed  spectacles  that 
had  proved  so  complete  a  disguise.  Now,  without 
them,  though  he  still  was  tinted  yellow  and  robed 
as  a  priest,  there  was  no  mistaking  him  for  anything 
but  a  foreigner,  and  "fan  kwei"  (foreign  devil)  was 
what  the  soldier  had  just  called  him. 

Others,  attracted  by  the  man's  exclamation,  were 
turning  to  look,  and  at  the  same  moment  came  a 
loud  shouting  from  the  rear.  Those  who  had  chased 


A    CHARGE    AND    A    RACE    FOR    LIFE  195 

our  lads  so  persistently  all  that  morning  were  close 
at  hand. 

For  an  instant  Jo's  heart  sank  like  lead  and  he 
believed  they  were  lost.  Then  like  a  flash  came  a 
thought  of  one  thing  that  they  still  might  do. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 
STEALING    A    LOCOMOTIVE 

Jo's  plan  was  communicated  to  Rob  in  a  few 
breathless  words  as  the  lads  dashed  up  the  track 
towards  the  head  of  the  train.  The  crowd  of  sol- 
diers, not  yet  understanding  that  they  were  fugi- 
tives, and  awed  by  the  sight  of  Jo's  uniform,  part- 
ed before  them,  only  stupidly  wondering  at  their 
haste.  Rob's  mind  instantly  seized  the  possi- 
bilities of  Jo's  suggestion,  and  as  they  ran  he 
gasped: 

"You  get  aboard,  Jo,  while  I  cut  it  loose.  Per- 
suade the  driver  to  start  her.  Never  mind  me.  I'll 
climb  aboard  somehow." 

Even  as  he  spoke,  Rob  turned  in  between  the  lo- 
comotive and  the  foremost  car,  which  already  was 
filled  with  Chinese  craning  their  necks  over  the  side 
to  see  what  was  going  on.  Fortunately,  there  were 
no  patent  couplers  to  be  dealt  with,  and  no  pneu- 
matic tubes,  for  on  this  primitive  train  brakes  were 
applied  by  hand,  while  the  connections  were  simple 
link-and-pin  affairs  that  any  one  could  understand. 
Rob  pulled  the  pin  and  scrambled  across  the  bump- 
ers to  the  opposite  side  of  the  train.  As  he  did  so 
his  flowing  priestly  robe  caught  and  was  torn  from 

196 


STEALING    A    LOCOMOTIVE  197 

his  shoulders,  leaving  him  fully  revealed  in  unmis- 
takable European  costume. 

Instantly  there  arose  a  yell  of  "Fan  kwei!"  from 
the  soldiers  in  the  car  above  him,  but  a  sudden  shot 
from  his  pistol  cut  it  short  and  sent  those  who  were 
uttering  it  tumbling  over  backward  in  pell-mell  con- 
sternation. 

The  locomotive  already  was  moving  as  Rob  ran 
forward  and  sprang  into  the  cab,  where  he  was  just 
in  time  to  break  up  a  most  startling  tableau.  The 
Chinese  engine-driver,  with  hand  on  the  open  throt- 
tle, was  cowering  beneath  the  threatening  muzzle  of 
Jo's  cocked  revolver.  The  latter's  back  was  turned, 
and  behind  him,  with  an  uplifted  bar  of  iron,  crept 
the  overlooked  fireman.  In  another  instant  the  blow 
would  have  fallen,  and  the  whole  course  of  Chinese 
history  might  have  been  changed;  but,  as  it  was 
about  to  descend,  Rob  caught  the  unsuspecting  man 
by  his  convenient  pig -tail  and  jerked  him  violent- 
ly backward,  while  the  murderous  bar  clattered  to 
the  iron  floor  of  the  cab.  The  next  moment  Rob 
had  bundled  the  fireman  overboard,  and  the  loco- 
motive sprang  forward  as  though  relieved  of  a  clog- 
ging weight. 

A  tremendous  clamor  of  yells  and  shooting  rose 
from  behind,  while  half  a  dozen  bullets  splintered 
the  wood-work  and  shivered  the  glass  of  the  cab; 
but  no  one  was  hurt,  and  no  one  minded  the  fusillade 
except  the  poor  engine-driver,  who  was  scared  almost 
white.  Rob  sprang  on  top  of  the  coal  in  the  tender 
and  waved  his  pistol  defiantly  above  his  head;  at 


198  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

the  same  time  shouting  derisive  farewells  to  the 
baffled  soldiers,  many  of  whom  were  hopelessly  run- 
ning after  the  vanishing  locomotive.  He  remained 
there  until  these  dwindled  to  the  size  of  distracted 
ants  wandering  aimlessly  about  a  ruined  hill,  and 
then  he  returned  to  the  cab,  where  Jo  still  remained 
on  guard. 

"I  say,  old  man,"  cried  the  young  American, 
speaking  loudly  to  make  himself  heard  above  the 
roar  and  rattle  of  the  on-rushing  engine,  "this  beats 
anything  I've  struck  in  China  yet.  Isn't  it  the 
greatest  bit  of  luck  in  the  world?  and  isn't  it  fun 
running  off  with  a  locomotive  ?  I  never  before  stole 
anything  worth  speaking  of,  and  I'm  glad  my  first 
burglary  is  something  worth  while.  I  don't  sup- 
pose it  comes  under  the  head  of  burglary,  though. 
Perhaps  we'd  be  called  sneak  thieves,  only  I  hardly 
like  the  sound  of  that,  either.  How  would  high- 
waymen do,  or  stage  robbers,  or  land  pirates.  That's 
it,  Jo;  we  are  land  pirates  who  have  just  captured  a 
ship  and  made  her  crew  walk  the  plank,  and  now — " 

"I'm  hungry,"  interrupted  the  young  Chinese, 
who,  never  having  read  any  pirate  stories,  didn't 
know  what  his  companion  was  talking  about,  "and 
thirsty,"  he  added,  looking  longingly  at  the  faucet 
of  the  tender's  water-tank. 

"So  am  I,"  shouted  back  Rob.  "Make  your 
slave  there  slow  down  a  bit,  for  we're  in  no  hurry 
anyhow,  and  I'll  get  you  a  drink." 

As  the  speed  with  which  they  had  started  began 
to  slacken,  Rob  suddenly  added: 


STEALING    A    LOCOMOTIVE  199 

"Great  Scott!  There's  another  thing  I  hadn't 
thought  of.  Stop  her,  quick,  Jo!  We've  got  to 
cut  that  telegraph-wire,  or  they'll  run  us  off  the 
track  at  the  first  station.  What  a  chucklehead  I 
am!" 

Before  the  locomotive  had  come  to  a  stand-still 
the  active  young  fellow  was  off  and  was  swarming 
up  a  short,  iron  telegraph-pole  near  the  track.  Thus 
it  was  owing  to  his  prompt  action  that  a  hurry  mes- 
sage at  that  moment  clicking  into  the  Ting-Chow  sta- 
tion, a  few  miles  ahead,  was  interrupted  after  the 
words, "  Look  out  for  engine ;  open — "  Probably  the 
sender  at  Hsu  River  would  have  added,  "derailing 
switch,"  and  then  proceeded  to  give  enlightening 
particulars  of  what  had  happened,  if  he  had  been 
allowed  the  opportunity;  but  he  was  not,  and  the 
Ting-Chow  operator  was  left  to  think  what  he 
pleased.  The  latter,  however,  had  been  warned 
that  for  some  unknown  reason  an  engine  might  be 
expected  from  the  south,  so  he  side-tracked  and  held 
a  train  of  empty  cars  that  was  just  about  to  proceed 
in  that  direction.  Thus  he  left  an  open  track  for 
our  friends,  and  saved  them  an  awkward  if  not  dis- 
astrous meeting. 

Without  knowing  whether  he  had  cut  the  wire  in 
time  to  prevent  mischief  or  not,  Rob  returned  to 
the  locomotive,  got  a  big,  satisfying  drink  of  water 
from  the  tank,  chucked  a  lot  of  coal  into  the  furnace, 
assumed  a  new  disguise  in  shape  of  the  cap,  jumper, 
and  overalls  of  the  engine -driver,  which  he  calmly 
appropriated  to  his  own  use;  and  as  the  great, 


200  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

swaying  machine  again  sped  forward  over  the  shin- 
ing rails  he  reopened  conversation  with  his  comrade. 

"How  far  is  the  line  open?"  he  asked. 

"To  Pao-Ting-Fu,  at  any  rate,"  replied  Jo,  "and 
perhaps  some  distance  beyond." 

"That's  the  worst  place  between  here  and  Pekin, 
isn't  it?" 

"Yes;  the  Boxers  are  in  complete  control  of  the 
city,  and  more  foreigners  have  been  killed  there 
than  at  any  other  point  in  this  province." 

"Then  it  won't  be  good  for  our  health  to  stop 
there  too  long." 

"I  should  think  not!" 

"How  far  is  it  from  Pao-Ting-Fu  to  Pekin?" 

"About  three  hundred  li." 

"That's  about  a  hundred  miles — three  or  four 
days  if  we  have  to  walk  it,  two  days  if  we  can  steal 
a  couple  of  ponies,  and  less  than  half  a  day  if  we 
only  could  carry  this  old  rattle-trap  the  whole  dis- 
tance," mused  Rob.  Then,  again  speaking  to  Jo, 
he  said: 

"Ask  your  friend  what's  wrong  with  the  road 
beyond  Pao-Ting-Fu?" 

Jo  did  as  requested,  and  after  a  short  conversation 
with  the  frightened  engine  -  driver  reported  that 
two  bridges  had  been  destroyed,  one  at  Ting  Shing, 
about  half-way  between  Pao-Ting-Fu  and  Pekin, 
and  the  other  at  Lu  Kow,  only  a  few  miles  from 
the  capital. 

"  The  first  would  be  enough  to  stop  us,"  said  Rob, 
gloomily.  "What  other  damage  has  been  done?" 


STEALING    A    LOCOMOTIVE  2OI 

"  He  says  not  much,  only  a  rail  torn  up  here  and 
there." 

"Well,"  said  Rob,  "we  might  as  well  play  this 
game  for  all  it  is  worth;  so,  suppose  we  make  the 
operator  at  the  next  station  telegraph  for  a  car 
with  a  dozen  or  so  of  rails  on  it,  and  a  gang  of  track- 
layers, to  be  ready  for  us  at  Pao-Ting-Fu.  Sign  the 
message  with  the  biggest  name  you  can  think  of  in 
this  part  of  the  country;  say  it  is  a  matter  of  life 
or  death  to  the  Emperor  himself  for  this  engine  to 
get  as  near  Pekin  as  possible  in  the  shortest  possible 
time.  It  will  be  an  awful  bluff,  of  course,  but  bluffs 
sometimes  work  when  you  least  expect  them  to. 
At  any  rate,  we  won't  lose  anything  by  trying. 
Hello!  There's  a  station  now,  and  a  train  headed 
this  way  on  the  siding.  Lucky  for  us  that  it  waited 
here,  for  there's  apt  to  be  trouble  when  two  trains 
meet  on  a  single  track.  I  hope  it  doesn't  mean, 
though,  that  they  have  heard  of  our  coming.  You 
run  in  and  do  your  best  with  the  telegraph  man, 
while  I  stay  here  and  keep  this  chap  from  getting 
busy.  Better  tell  the  agent,  or  whatever  you  call 
him,  to  rush  that  train  out  in  a  hurry,  so  its  hands 
won't  come  rubbering  round  us  for  news.  See  if 
you  can't  pick  up  something  to  eat,  too,  for  I  am 
starving.  We'll  run  up  and  take  in  water  from  that 
tank  while  you  are  gone.  I'll  make  our  friend  here 
sabe  somehow  what  I  want  him  to  do." 

Rob's  bluff  worked  to  perfection.  The  waiting 
train  pulled  out  the  moment  they  had  passed  the 
siding  switch,  and  went  on  its  southward  way  with- 


202  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

out  carrying  a  suspicion  of  anything  having  gone 
wrong.  Rob  got  his  tank  full  of  water  without 
trouble,  and  had  hardly  done  so  when  Jo  reappeared, 
hurrying  towards  the  locomotive.  He  was  followed 
by  a  boy  bearing  a  basket  full  of  cooked  rice  and 
Chinese  cakes.  The  young  officer  had  ordered  the 
few  employe's  of  the  station  about  with  such  a  lordly 
air  that  they  had  obeyed  him  without  question. 

"  Did  they  know  we  were  coming?"  asked  Rob,  as 
the  engine  again  gathered  headway. 

"Yes,"  replied  Jo.  "They  had  received  part  of 
a  message,  telling  them  to  look  out  for  us.  Then 
it  was  cut  off,  and  they  were  a  good  deal  troubled 
at  not  hearing  a  word  from  the  south  since." 

"Good!"  cried  Rob.  "We  cut  the  wire  just  in 
time  then." 

"Yes.  I  told  them  I  saw  somebody  destroying 
the  line,  and  said  I  thought  he  was  a  Boxer." 

"So  I  am,"  laughed  Rob,  munching  a  Chinese 
sweetcake  as  he  spoke.  "But  how  about  the  mes- 
sage to  Pao-Ting?" 

"Oh,  he  sent  it  off  all  right.  That  is,  I  suppose 
he  did.  Anyhow,  he  seemed  a  good  deal  impressed 
by  the  name  I  signed  to  it." 

"What  name  was  it?" 

"Yu-Hsien." 

"  What !  The  governor  of  Shan-Si !  The  big  man 
of  all  the  Boxers!  You  didn't  have  the  cheek!" 

"I  did,  though,"  declared  Jo,  stoutly;  "and  if  it 
don't  get  us  what  we  want  at  Pao-Ting,  there  isn't 
another  name  in  all  China  that  would," 


STEALING    A    LOCOMOTIVE  2O3 

They  were  barely  out  of  sight  of  the  station  before 
they  came  to  a  bridge  across  a  small  river.  Here, 
as  the  telegraph-line  was  strung  on  it  within  easy 
reach,  the  locomotive  was  brought  to  a  stand-still, 
while  Rob  again  tried  his  hand  at  wire-cutting. 
Jo  leaned  from  the  cab  to  watch  him,  thus  relaxing 
for  a  minute  his  close  watch  of  their  useful  prisoner. 

As  Rob  came  back,  calling  out :  "  Let  her  go  again, 
I'm  aboard,"  Jo  turned  to  give  the  necessary  or- 
der, only  to  discover  to  his  consternation  that  the 
engine-driver  was  nowhere  in  sight.  In  vain  did 
they  search  through  the  cab  and  its  tender,  in  the 
water-tanks,  and  even  under  the  coal.  In  vain  did 
they  look  up  and  down  the  track,  at  the  bridge  on 
both  sides,  even  staring  down  into  the  water  twenty 
feet  below  them.  The  man  had  disappeared,  so  far 
as  they  could  discover,  as  absolutely  as  though  the 
ground  had  opened  and  swallowed  him. 

"Well,"  remarked  Rob,  in  a  melancholy  tone, 
"that  beats  anything  I  ever  experienced.  We  cer- 
tainly have  got  the  old  wagon  to  ourselves  now,  and 
the  question  is,  what  shall  we  do  with  it?" 

"I  say  run  it,"  replied  Jo.  "I've  watched  him 
until  I  know  how  to  start  and  stop,  and  how  to  go 
slow  or  fast.  I'll  do  that  part  if  you  will  keep  up 
the  fire,  and  I  don't  believe  there  is  anything  else 
to  be  looked  out  for." 

"All  right,"  agreed  Rob,  "go  ahead.  I  don't  like 
it,  and  I  expect  we  shall  come  to  grief;  but  I  can 
stand  it  if  you  can." 


CHAPTER  XXIV 
THE    TIMELY    EXPLOSION    OF    A    BOILER 

GREATLY  depressed  by  the  unexplained  disappear- 
ance of  their  Chinese  engine  -  driver,  our  lads,  igno- 
rant of  everything  connected  with  machinery,  set 
themselves  the  hazardous  task  of  running  a  loco- 
motive. They  got  it  started  without  difficulty,  and 
ten  minutes  later  were  running  at  tremendous  speed 
over  the  level  line  that  extended  without  grade  or 
curve  as  far  as  they  could  see.  While  Rob  shovelled 
coal  until  his  back  ached  and  his  face  was  as  black 
as  that  of  a  negro,  Jo  occupied  the  engine-driver's 
seat  and  anxiously  stared*  ahead.  Neither  of  them 
spoke,  for  the  strain  on  their  nerves  was  too  great, 
since  each  knew  that  at  any  moment  they  were 
likely  to  be  blown  up,  flung  from  the  track,  or  sent 
plunging  through  some  weakened  bridge.  They 
were  facing  death  in  a  dozen  forms,  but  stuck  to 
their  posts  without  flinching,  for  they  knew  that  a 
like  fate,  absolutely  certain,  awaited  the  unprotected 
foreigner  who  should  be  caught  attempting  to  cross 
those  plains  on  foot. 

So  they  drove  on,  mile  after  mile,  dashing  past 
the  station  of  Sing  Yang  without  a  pause  or  even  a 

204 


'SO  THEY  DROVE  ON,  MILE  AFTER  MILE 


THE    TIMELY    EXPLOSION    OF    A    BOILER         205 

slow-down,  and  shortly  before  sunset  came  within 
sight  of  the  gray  walls  of  Pao-Ting-Fu. 

"Shut  her  off,  Jo.  We've  done  the  act  so  far 
all  right,"  said  Rob,  speaking  jerkily  and  with  ill- 
repressed  excitement.  "  Now  comes  the  real  danger. 
What  a  crowd  there  is  about  the  station.  There's 
an  engine,  though,  with  a  single  car  attached.  See! 
Waiting  up  by  the  tank.  Perhaps  our  bluff  has 
worked!  Steady!  Here  they  come!" 

The  stolen  locomotive  had  come  to  a  stop  at  the 
lower  end  of  the  station  platform,  panting  as  though 
exhausted  by  its  long  run,  and  a  group  of  Chinese  of- 
ficials were  hurrying  to  meet  it. 

"Where  is  his  excellency,  Yu-Hsien?"  asked  one 
of  these,  peering  with  an  expectant  air  into  the  cab. 

"He  is  following  on  a  special  train,"  replied  Jo, 
promptly;  "but  I  am  his  representative,  sent  ahead 
to  prepare  the  way  for  him.  Is  the  track-repairing 
car  ready,  as  the  governor  requested?  If  not  he  will 
cause  the  officials  of  Pao-Ting  to  suffer  the  same 
'bitterness'  that  has  gained  him  fame  among  the 
foreigners  of  Shan-Si." 

"  It  has  been  prepared  according  to  the  most  noble 
governor's  desire,"  replied  the  official,  hesitatingly, 
"but—" 

"Let  us,  then,  go  to  it,"  interrupted  Jo,  stepping 
from  the  locomotive  as  he  spoke  and  starting  up  the 
platform. 

Rob  followed  him  closely.  As  he  left  the  cab  he 
caught  a  glimpse  of  a  begrimed,  dishevelled,  and 
nearly  naked  man  crawling  from  beneath  the  tender. 


2O6  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

In  an  instant  it  flashed  across  him  that  this  was  their 
lost  engine-driver.  Looking  back  a  moment  later 
he  saw  the  same  figure  following  them. 

They  in  the  mean  time  were  being  conducted 
towards  the  agent's  quarters  in  the  station-house, 
where  refreshments  had  been  prepared  for  Governor 
Yu-Hsien. 

"If  he  were  but  here,"  remarked  the  official 
spokesman,  deprecatingly,  "of  course,  everything 
would  be  at  his  disposal;  but  we  have  been  so  ex- 
pressly ordered  not  to  allow  the  passage  north  of  any 
save  troops  or  mandarins  of  the  highest  rank,  that 
we  are  at  a  loss  how  to  act." 

"Am  I  not  a  representative  of  one  of  the  greatest 
mandarins  of  the  empire?"  demanded  Jo,  fiercely, 
"and  am  I  not  come  to  prepare  the  way  for  him? 
Has  it  not  already  been  told  to  your  dull  ears  that 
upon  his  reaching  the  imperial  city  within  two  days 
depends  the  very  life  of  the  Son  of  Heaven?"  At 
this  august  name  every  one  present,  excepting  Rob, 
and  including  the  speaker  himself,  made  a  deep 
reverence. 

"The  Emperor  is  no  longer  in  danger,  since  the 
ocean-devil  army  has  been  driven  back,  and  now  is 
being  cut  to  pieces  by  his  own  invincible  troops," 
boasted  the  official. 

"  What  do  you  mean?"  asked  Jo.  "  No  such  news 
has  come  to  the  ears  of  his  excellency  the  governor." 

"It  is  nevertheless  true  that  from  the  ships  gath- 
ered off  Taku  bar  thousands  of  ocean  men  were 
landed  to  go  to  Pekin.  They  travelled  by  the  road 


THE    TIMELY    EXPLOSION    OF    A    BOILER         207 

of  iron-fire,  restoring  the  track,  even  as  you  now 
propose  to  do.  Slower  and  slower  they  moved, 
being  beset  on  all  sides  by  sons  of  the  Great  Sword. 
Beyond  An-Ting  they  could  not  go,  for  there  they 
were  met  by  imperial  cavalry  from  the  South  Hunt- 
ing Park,  and  turned  back  in  disorderly  flight. 
Hundreds  were  killed,  and  hundreds  more  are  being 
cut  down  at  this  moment.  All  their  guns  and  ban- 
ners are  captured,  and  it  is  certain  that  not  one  of 
them  will  escape  alive.  The  ocean  devils  still  on 
their  ships  have  threatened  to  fire  on  the  Taku 
forts,  but  they  dare  not  do  it.  General  Nieh  has 
made  answer  that,  with  the  firing  of  the  first  shot, 
every  foreign  devil  in  Tien-Tsin  and  Pekin  will  be 
put  to  death;  for  so  commands  an  edict  from  the 
imperial  city." 

"What  has  all  this  to  do  with  us?"  inquired  Jo, 
pretending  not  to  be  at  all  affected  by  this  startling 
news.  "The  governor  of  Shan-Si  must  pass  in  spite 
of  everything.  Let  him  be  delayed  by  so  much  as 
the  fraction  of  an  hour,  and  those  whom  he  will  hold 
responsible  may  well  tremble  in  their  shoes." 

"Is  not  the  man  with  the  black  face,  standing  by 
your  side  at  this  moment,  a  foreign  devil?"  sud- 
denly demanded  the  official,  ignoring  Jo's  threat  and 
pointing  an  accusing,  clawlike  finger  at  Rob. 

"No,"  answered  Jo,  stoutly.  "  He  is  a  native  of 
the  Middle  Kingdom;  but  he  comes  from  the  far 
south,  where  he  was  born.  Also,  he  is  wise  in  the  sci- 
ence of  iron-fire,  and  has  been  sent  on  in  advance  of 
the  great  governor  to  make  safe  his  way.  If  you 


208  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

should  harm  so  much  as  a  hair  of  his  head,  the 
vengeance  of  Yu-Hsien  would  be  swift  and  terrible 
as  that  of  Heaven  itself." 

"He  is  yang-kwei!"  (foreign  devil,  northern  dia- 
lect) cried  a  voice  from  the  back  of  the  room,  and 
Rob,  turning  quickly,  caught  a  glimpse  of  the  be- 
grimed engine-driver  whom  he  had  seen  crawl  out 
from  under  the  tender  and  who  afterwards  had  fol- 
lowed them. 

At  the  same  instant  he,  together  with  every  one 
in  the  room,  was  hurled  violently  to  the  floor,  the 
walls  of  the  building  were  blown  in  as  though  they 
were  of  card-board,  and  the  city  of  Pao-Ting-Fu 
was  shaken  by  an  explosion  so  terrific  that  its  in- 
habitants ran  shrieking  from  their  houses  into  the 
streets. 

Some  of  the  occupants  of  the  station-agent's  room 
fled  from  it  unharmed,  while  others,  and  among 
them  our  lads,  more  or  less  bruised  by  falling  bricks 
or  tiles,  crawled  out  from  the  debris  and  made  exit 
more  slowly.  Only  one  remained  behind,  crushed 
to  death  beneath  a  heavy  roof-timber,  and  he  was 
the  engine-driver,  killed,  in  the  very  act  of  denounc- 
ing Rob,  by  the  blowing  up  of  his  own  locomotive. 
It  had  been  left  with  a  roaring  fire  behind  its  closed 
furnace  door  and  very  little  water  in  its  boiler. 

"Are  you  hurt,  Rob?" 

"Nothing  to  speak  of.     Are  you?" 

"No." 

"Then  what  do  you  say?  Shall  we  take  ad- 
vantage of  the  confusion  to  light  out?  Things 


THE    TIMELY    EXPLOSION    OF    A    BOILER          2OQ 

seemed  to  be  getting  pretty  hot  for  us  when  that 
blessed  old  engine  interrupted  the  proceedings." 

"  What  do  you  mean?  Run  away  ?  No,  indeed!" 
replied  Jo,  earnestly.  "Things  are  just  as  we  want 
them  now.  Don't  you  remember  that  I  was  telling 
them  what  Yu  -  Hsien  would  do  if  they  interfered 
with  his  plans?  He  is  the  head  Boxer,  you  know, 
and  just  now  the  I-Ho-Chuan  are  credited  with  be- 
ing masters  of  magic.  Wait  till  I  speak  to  these  big 
men." 

The  official,  or,  as  Jo  called  him,  "the  big  man," 
who  had  been  foremost  in  examining  our  lads,  was 
excitedly  chattering  with  one  of  his  fellows  when 
Jo  and  Rob  stepped  up  to  him. 

"You  are  alive  and  not  harmed?"  he  gasped  at 
sight  of  them. 

"Of  course  we  are  not  harmed,"  replied  Jo.  "  Did 
I  not  tell  you  that  we  are  the  servants  of  Yu -Hsien  ? 
and  do  you  think  he  would  harm  his  own?" 

"  Is  this  terrible  thing  the  work  of  the  great  Boxer?" 

"Certainly  it  is.  I  warned  you  how  it  would  be. 
He  has  killed  one  who  defied  him,  that  you  may  have 
evidence  of  his  strength ;  and  if  you  still  go  against 
his  wishes  your  own  sons  will  shortly  erect  a  new  an- 
cestral tablet." 

"It  is  true,  most  honorable  one,"  admitted  the 
frightened  official, humbly ;  "and  we  are  not  so  dense 
but  that  we  can  learn  the  lesson  thus  plainly  stated. 
Tell  us,  then,  how  we  can  serve  you,  and  thus  ap- 
pease the  wrath  of  the  mighty  Boxer,  that  he  may 
not  visit  further  destruction  upon  us." 
14 


210  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

"Give  us  the  slight  thing  for  which  we  asked:  a 
few  rails,  a  few  track-layers,  and  a  fresh  engine,  that 
we  may  go  about  our  work  and  prepare  the  way  for 
our  master,"  replied  Jo,  boldly,  "then  shall  all  go 
well  with  you  and  with  this  city  of  Pao-Ting,  which 
otherwise  might  be  bereft  of  its  walls  by  the  next 
exhibition  of  Yu-Hsien's  wrath." 

So  superstitious  are  the  Chinese,  so  dreaded  were 
the  mysterious  incantations  of  the  I-Ho-Chuan,  and 
so  unnerved  were  the  officials  of  Pao-Ting-Fu  by 
the  explosion  of  a  few  minutes  before,  that  they 
yielded  to  Jo's  demands. 

A  locomotive  attached  to  a  car  holding  rails  and 
a  gang  of  coolies  had  been  made  ready  in  anticipa- 
tion of  Yu-Hsien's  coming.  This  train,  standing 
by  the  water-tank,  at  a  distance  from  the  scene  of 
explosion,  had  remained  uninjured,  and  now  was 
placed  at  the  disposal  of  our  lads.  They  were  told 
that  for  fifty  li  the  track  still  was  in  good  condition ; 
after  that  they  could  readily  repair  it  with  the 
means  at  their  disposal,  until  they  came  to  the  great 
bridge  at  Cho  Chou,  which  had  been  hopelessly  de- 
stroyed. 

So  our  young  adventurers  left  the  officials  of  Pao- 
Ting-Fu,  promising  them  that  Yu-Hsien  should  be 
informed  of  their  efforts  in  his  behalf,  and  were 
thankfully  seen  to  disappear  in  the  gathering  twi- 
light. 

"Well!"  exclaimed  Rob,  who  had  not  spoken  dur- 
ing all  these  negotiations,  heaving  a  great  sigh  of 
relief  as  they  pulled  out  from  the  deadly  neighbor- 


THE   TIMELY    EXPLOSION    OF    A    BOILER          211 

hood.  "  Our  bluff  worked,  after  all.  But,  take  it  all 
around,  it  was  about  as  close  a  call  as  I  ever  want 
to  experience." 

"  Yes,"  replied  Jo.  "I  never  expected  to  be  saved 
from  sudden  death  by  the  blowing-up  of  a  boiler." 

That  night  they  remained  on  board  their  new 
locomotive  at  the  little  town  of  An-Su-Hsien,  where 
Jo  procured  for  each  of  them  the  red  hats,  sashes, 
and  shoes  worn  by  Boxers.  At  daylight  they  again 
were  under  way,  and,  though  they  were  obliged  to 
stop  a  dozen  times  to  replace  missing  rails,  they 
had  reached  Cho  Chou,  only  forty  miles  from  Pekin, 
before  dark.  Here  they  were  able  to  hire  horses 
that  by  late  afternoon  of  the  following  day  had 
carried  them  within  sight  of  the  far-extended  walls 
of  the  great  Chinese  capital.  Beyond  the  wall  rolled 
dense  clouds  of  smoke,  as  though  the  whole  city 
were  on  fire,  while  distinct  above  all  other  sounds 
rose  the  sharp  rattle  of  musketry,  mingled  with  the 
deeper  roar  of  heavier  guns. 

At  these  evidences  of  strife  our  lads  drew  rein  and 
looked  inquiringly  at  each  other.  After  all,  was  the 
city  of  Pekin  a  good  place  for  a  young  American  and 
a  Chinese  who  had  befriended  him  to  enter  at  that 
moment  ? 

"Yes,"  said  Rob,  at  length,  "  I  think  we  will  keep 
on,  only  we  will  give  up  our  horses  here.  I  don't 
see  that  we  will  be  any  worse  off,  in  any  event,  in- 
side the  city  than  where  we  are.  There  is  fighting 
going  on,  to  be  sure,  but  it  must  be  between  our 
friends  and  our  enemies.  If  the  former  are  getting 


212  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

the  worst  of  it,  then  they  need  our  help ;  while  if  the 
fight  is  going  the  other  way,  we  have  nothing  to 
fear." 

"  I  wonder,"  remarked  Jo,  bitterly,  as  they  moved 
slowly  forward  on  foot,"  which  side  will  prove 
friendly  to  me,  or  will  all  prove  enemies  of  the  Chi- 
nese who  has  befriended  a  foreigner?" 


CHAPTER  XXV 
IN  CHINA'S  CAPITAL  CITY 

CHINA'S  capital,  the  great  northern  city  of  Pekin, 
is  situated  on  a  plain  one  hundred  and  twenty  miles 
from  the  sea,  and  near  the  eastern  base  of  a  low 
mountain-range  known  as  the  Western  Hills.  It  is 
divided  into  two  nearly  equal  parts,  the  northern 
being  the  Manchu,  or  Tartar  City,  while  the  other  is 
called  the  southern,  or  Chinese  City.  The  northern 
city  is  surrounded  by  a  vast  brick  wall  ten  miles  in 
length,  fifty  feet  thick  at  the  base,  sixty  feet  high, 
and  forty  feet  wide  on  top,  pierced  by  nine  massive 
gateways,  two  on  the  north  side,  two  on  the  east, 
two  on  the  west,  and  three  on  the  south.  These 
last  open  into  the  southern  city,  which  is  of  about 
the  same  size  as  the  other,  and  also  is  surrounded  by 
a  lofty  wall  having  seven  gates.  In  the  southern 
city,  standing  in  the  middle  of  a  forty-acre  park,  is 
the  great  Temple  of  Heaven,  in  which  the  Emperor 
alone  may  worship. 

In  the  centre  of  the  northern,  or  Tartar  City,  and 
occupying  one-eighth  of  the  enclosed  space,  is  lo- 
cated the  Forbidden  City,  surrounded  by  a  fifty-foot 
wall  of  red  brick  coped  with  tiles  of  imperial  yellow. 
This  wall  has  but  four  gates,  and  within  it  are  the 

213 


214  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

yamens,  or  palaces  of  high -rank  mandarins,  besides 
parks  and  pleasure-grounds.  Inside  of  the  For- 
bidden City  is  yet  another,  known  as  the  Imperial 
City,  strongly  fortified,  and  containing  the  palaces, 
pleasure-grounds,  lakes,  and  lotus  ponds  of  the  im- 
perial family. 

While  Canton,  in  the  far  south,  has  been  called 
the  most  wonderful  city  of  the  world,  Pekin  is  almost 
as  remarkable,  although  in  an  entirely  different  way. 
Canton  streets  are  noted  for  their  extreme  narrow- 
ness, and  those  of  Pekin  for  their  width,  some  of  the 
latter  being  one  hundred  feet  wide.  In  Canton  there 
are  no  wheeled  vehicles  and  no  beasts  of  burden, 
while  Pekin  streets  swarm  with  blue-covered,  two- 
wheeled  carts,  very  heavy,  and  drawn  by  large,  fine- 
looking  mules,  two-coolie  jinrikishas,  bullock-carts, 
wheelbarrows  loaded  with  passengers  or  freight, 
pushed  by  one  coolie  and  pulled  by  another,  long 
caravans  of  shaggy,  two  -  humped  camels,  besides 
innumerable  riding  ponies  and  donkeys.  Also,  in 
Pekin,  may  occasionally  be  seen  the  smart  Euro- 
pean brougham,  drawn  by  a  high-stepping  American 
horse,  of  some  wealthy  mandarin,  though  most  of 
those  who  can  afford  to  ride  prefer  to  do  so  in  sedan- 
chairs.  Of  these  chairs,  those  used  by  members  of 
the  imperial  family  are  roofed  and  curtained  in  yel- 
low, those  of  the  higher  -  class  mandarins  are  red, 
those  of  the  next  lower  grade  are  blue,  and  so  the 
descent  is  continued  through  green  to  black,  while 
mourning  chairs  of  every  class  invariably  are  white. 

In  Canton  a  large  proportion  of  the  houses  have 


IN    CHINAS    CAPITAL    CITY  215 

two  stories,  while  in  all  directions  tower  lofty,  six- 
to-nine-storied  pawn-shops,  looking  like  flat -topped 
grain  elevators;  but  in  Pekin  all  dwellings  and 
shops,  even  including  the  imperial  palaces,  have  but 
a  single  story.  The  only  buildings  in  all  the  city 
that  exceed  this  height  are  the  pagoda-like  Temple 
of  Heaven,  the  great  drum-tower,  the  great  bell- 
tower,  the  fortified  gate-towers  surmounting  the  city 
walls,  and  certain  foreign  establishments  belonging 
to  missions,  legations,  or  business  firms  that  have 
been  erected  since  1900. 

Pekin  is  well  provided  with  wide  breathing  spaces 
in  the  shape  of  temple  and  palace  grounds,  and  shade 
trees  are  fairly  abundant  throughout  the  city.  Most 
of  its  broad  avenues  are  unpaved,  and  it  is  visited 
by  suffocating  dust-storms  at  certain  seasons  of  the 
year,  while  at  others  it  wades  through  fathomless 
mud. 

In  1897  the  capital  was  connected  with  Tien-Tsin, 
eighty  miles  away,  and  with  the  sea  by  rail,  but 
the  track  was  compelled  to  end  two  miles  outside 
the  southern  wall.  In  1900  came  the  great  Boxer 
uprising,  the  siege  of  the  foreign  legations  in  Pekin, 
and  the  capture,  occupation,  and  terrible  punish- 
ment of  the  city  by  the  troops  of  nine  foreign  powers. 
These  retained  possession  for  a  year,  during  which 
time  they  carried  the  railroad  into  the  very  heart 
of  the  city,  largely  increased  the  area  of  legation 
"concessions,"  established  a  clean-swept  neutral 
zone  three  hundred  feet  wide  around  the  legation 
territory,  paved  Legation  Street,  built  commodious 


2l6  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

barracks  for  the  foreign  troops  that  were  to  remain 
as  permanent  legation  guards,  and  erected  hand- 
some legation  buildings;  while  the  United  States 
and  Germany  took  possession  of  and  will  perma- 
nently control  a  quarter  of  a  mile  of  the  city  wall 
adjoining  their  legations.  After  a  year  of  foreign 
control  Pekin  was  restored  to  its  Chinese  rulers,  and 
the  self -exiled  imperial  court  returned  to  their  capital 
city.  During  1903  a  number  of  large  foreign  build- 
ings, including  a  European  hotel,  banks,  hospitals, 
chapels,  schools,  etc.,  were  erected,  and  many  more 
were  projected  for  this  year  ( 1 904) .  Electric  lighting 
on  an  extensive  scale,  as  well  as  electric  trams,  are 
already  planned  for.  The  Pe-Han  (Pekin-Hankow) 
Railway,  over  a  portion  of  which  our  lads  travelled, 
and  which  was  wholly  destroyed  by  Boxers  imme- 
diately afterwards,  has  been  restored  and  the  track 
extended  southward  to  the  Yellow  River.  Beyond 
this  construction  is  being  so  rapidly  pushed  from 
both  ends  that  the  completion  of  the  whole  line  is 
promised  by  1906. 

Thus  China's  capital,  rudely  roused  by  foreign 
guns  from  the  sleep  of  ages,  is  now  awake  and  in  a 
fair  way  speedily  to  take  a  prominent  place  among 
the  progressive  cities  of  the  world. 

None  of  these  things  were  thought  of,  however, 
on  that  June  day  of  1900  when  Rob  Hinckley,  ac- 
companied by  his  stanch  friend,  Chinese  Jo,  hesi- 
tatingly approached  the  great  city ;  for  at  that  mo- 
ment it  was  shadowed  by  the  darkness  of  despair. 
The  tidal  wave  of  Boxer  uprising  had  reached  and 


IN    CHINA  S    CAPITAL    CITY  217 

overwhelmed  it.  The  I-Ho-Chuan  were  in  complete 
possession,  and  Pekin,  with  its  teeming  population, 
its  accumulated  wealth  of  years,  and,  above  all,  with 
its  hundreds  of  hated  foreigners,  diplomats,  mission- 
aries, business  men,  and  legation  guards,  lay  at  their 
mercy.  They  had  nothing  to  fear  from  imperial 
troops,  for  these,  always  in  sympathy  with  their 
movement,  already  had  begun  to  co-operate  with 
them  in  their  killing  of  Christian  converts,  their 
burnings  and  their  lootings.  Bolder  and  bolder 
they  became,  wilder  and  wilder  grew  their  excesses, 
until  shortly  before  the  arrival  of  Rob  and  Jo  they 
had  started  fierce  conflagrations  in  all  parts  of  the 
city,  had  destroyed  two  Roman  Catholic  cathedrals, 
and  were  regularly  besieging  a  third  with  cannonade 
and  rifle-fire.  In  this  great  fortress,  and  within  its 
spacious,  wall-enclosed  grounds,  ninety  foreigners, 
forty-three  of  whom  were  French  and  Italian  ma- 
rines, and  more  than  three  thousand  native  con- 
verts had  taken  refuge.  For  sixty  days  this  is- 
olated stronghold  of  Christianity  was  shelled  and 
bombarded  with  cannon-ball  and  rifle-bullet ;  but  it 
held  out  to  the  end,  and  stands  to-day  a  monument 
to  the  heroic  endurance  of  its  defenders.  The  at- 
tack on  it  had  been  begun  three  days  before  the 
arrival  of  our  lads,  and  the  sounds  of  heavy  firing 
that  had  so  aroused  their  anxiety  was  the  cannonade 
directed  against  its  walls. 

With  many  misgivings  they  skirted  the  southern 
city,  which  seemed  a  seething  caldron  of  riot  and 
flame,  and  sought  an  entrance  to  the  Tartar  City 


2l8  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

through  one  of  its  western  gates.  Here,  to  Jo's 
great  satisfaction,  he  found,  in  the  officer  of  the 
guard  who  examined  them,  an  acquaintance  not 
only  willing  to  admit  them,  but  of  whom  he  could 
ask  questions.  Believing  Jo  to  feel  even  more  bit- 
terly than  himself  concerning  foreigners,  this  officer 
did  not  hesitate  to  give  him  the  very  latest  news. 
He  confirmed  the  report  heard  at  Pao-Ting-Fu  of 
the  defeat  and  driving  back  towards  Tien-Tsin  of 
the  combined  American  and  British  relief  expedi- 
tion, under  Admiral  Seymour,  told  of  the  siege  of 
the  northern  cathedral,  and,  most  startling  of  all, 
informed  Jo  of  the  imperial  edict,  issued  that  very 
day,  ordering  the  destruction  of  every  foreigner 
within  the  walls  of  Pekin. 

"Already,"  he  said,  "have  the  invincible  troops 
of  Jung  Lu  entered  the  city,  and  with  them  are  the 
Kwang-su  tigers,  under  the  terrible  Tung-Fu-Hsang, 
who  thirsts  for  foreign  blood  as  does  a  babe  for  its 
mother's  milk.  To-day  they  are  placing  guns  to 
command  the  legations,  and  to-morrow  at  four 
o'clock,  if  the  ocean  devils  have  not  left  the  city, 
they  will  be  attacked  and  killed  like  rats  in  their 
holes." 

It  was  fortunate  that  Rob  failed  to  comprehend 
what  the  officer  said,  for  he  could  not  have  listened 
unmoved  as  did  Jo.  That  the  latter  did  so  was 
because  he  was  not  quite  certain  that  he  did  not 
approve  of  the  plan  for  driving  all  foreigners  from 
China.  Foreigners  expelled  Chinese  from  their  coun- 
tries, so  why  should  not  his  people  in  turn  expel  for- 


IN    CHINA  S    CAPITAL    CITY  2ig 

eigners  from  China?  Still,  he  did  not  express  any 
views  on  the  subject  at  that  time,  but  changed  the 
topic  of  conversation  by  asking  the  officer  if  he  could 
tell  him  where  his  father  might  be  found. 

For  a  moment  the  latter  hesitated,  and  his  face 
assumed  a  peculiar  expression.  Then  he  said:  "  Did 
you  not  know  that  his  excellency  Li  Ching  Cheng 
had  been  given  a  position  on  the  Board  of  Punish- 
ment? It  is  doubtless  at  the  yamen  of  that  illus- 
trious body  that  you  will  find  him." 

Thanking  the  officer  for  his  courtesy,  Jo  and  his 
companion  took  their  departure,  and,  making  their 
way  through  alleys  and  the  quieter  streets  as  re- 
mote as  possible  from  conflagrations  and  all  scenes 
of  disturbance,  they  finally  reached  the  yamen  of 
the  Board  of  Punishment,  which  corresponds  to 
what  in  an  American  city  would  be  a  combined 
court-house  and  jail. 

A  main  entrance  through  the  street  wall  led  to  a 
court,  reached  by  the  descent  of  several  steps.  This 
court  was  surrounded  by  low  buildings,  occupied 
as  offices  of  the  board,  and  in  its  centre  was  a  pond 
of  water.  As  no  person  of  whom  they  could  ask 
questions  was  to  be  seen  here,  our  lads  passed  on 
to  a  second  or  inner  court  that  opened  from  the 
first.  It  also  contained  a  stone-bordered  reservoir 
of  water,  and  was  surrounded  by  fantastically  orna- 
mented buildings.  In  one  feature  that  was  immedi- 
ately noticeable,  these  low  buildings  differed  from 
any  other  that  Rob  ever  had  seen  in  China.  They 
were  provided  with  cellar-like  basements,  divided 


220  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

into  small  compartments,  from  each  of  which  a 
little,  grated  window  opened  into  a  tiny  outside  well- 
hole. 

About  one  of  these  well -holes  stood  a  group  of 
half  a  dozen  Chinese  officials,  towards  whom  Jo 
made  his  way,  intending  to  ask  them  where  his 
father  might  be  found.  As  he  drew  near  and  was 
about  to  speak,  he  glanced  downward  to  see  what 
so  had  attracted  their  curiosity  that  no  one  of  them 
had  turned  at  his  approach.  What  he  saw  was  a 
human  face,  tortured  and  livid,  pressed  against  the 
grating,  and  straining  upward  in  mute  agony.  The 
man  was  supporting  himself  by  hands  clinched 
about  two  bars  of  the  grating,  and  evidently  was 
standing  on  tiptoe. 

Rob,  looking  over  Jo's  shoulder,  also  saw  the 
awful  face,  and  for  an  instant  wondered  at  the  black 
line  that  seemed  to  cut  it  at  the  uplifted  chin.  Then 
it  flashed  across  him  that  this  was  a  line  of  black 
water,  slowly  but  surely  rising,  and  that  in  another 
moment  the  man  would  be  drowned.  And  no  one 
dared  try  to  save  him,  even  were  it  possible  to  do 
so,  for  he  was  a  condemned  prisoner  suffering  one 
of  the  innumerable,  ingeniously  awful  forms  of  Chi- 
nese capital  punishment. 

"What  was  his  crime?"  asked  one  of  the  fasci- 
nated spectators  of  another. 

"  He  was  that  member  of  the  Tsung  Li  Yamen 
who,  before  circulating  the  palace  edict,  'Feng  yang 
jen  pi  ska ' "  (whenever  meeting  foreigners,  kill  them) , 
"  dared  alter  'pi'"  (kill)  "  into  '  pao'  "  (protect). 


IN    CHINA  S    CAPITAL    CITY  221 

"It  is  enough,  and  his  punishment  is  righteous," 
declared  the  other. 

Rob  did  not  quite  understand  this,  but  Jo  did, 
and,  seizing  his  comrade's  arm  with  so  fierce  a  grip 
that  the  latter  winced,  he  dragged  him  from  the 
awful  scene.  As  they  gained  the  street  he  whispered, 
in  choking  voice: 

"  From  this  moment  I  am  with  you  and  with  the 
foreign  people,  until  the  Empress  is  overthrown. 
Let  us  get  to  your  legation." 

"Was  it  any  one  you  knew?"  asked  Rob,  not  yet 
comprehending. 

"He  was  my  father." 


CHAPTER  XXVI 
WAR    CLOUDS 

CHINA,  in  her  ignorant  self-confidence,  and  goaded 
to  desperation  by  foreign  aggressions,  was  defying 
the  world.  Not  only  was  she  killing  missionaries, 
together  with  their  converts,  wherever  found,  and 
putting  to  shameful  death  such  of  her  own  people, 
from  highest  mandarin  to  lowest  coolie,  as  dared 
lift  a  hand  to  save  them  or  speak  a  word  in  their 
behalf,  but  by  imperial  order  Chinese  troops  were 
preparing  to  attack  foreign  ministers  in  their  own 
legations.  Thus  China  deliberately  was  about  to 
commit  the  gravest  of  international  crimes.  For 
some  time  the  foreign  ministers,  foreseeing  the  dan- 
gers of  the  apparently  uncontrollable  Boxer  uprising, 
had  been  calling  upon  their  respective  governments 
for  protection.  In  response  an  ever-increasing  fleet 
of  war-ships  was  gathered  off  the  mouth  of  the  Pei- 
ho,  which  was  as  near  as  they  could  approach  to 
Pekin.  From  those  ships  which  first  arrived  a 
mixed  force  of  marines,  four  hundred  in  all,  and 
representing  eight  nations,  was  sent  to  the  capital 
to  act  as  legation  guards,  and  the  train  that  brought 
them  was  the  last  to  reach  Pekin  for  many  weeks. 

These  marines  arrived  on  the  first  day  of  June, 
222 


WAR    CLOUDS  223 

and  forty-five  of  them  immediately  were  detailed 
to  protect  the  great  northern  cathedral,  while 
twenty  more  were  sent  to  the  compound  of  the 
American  Methodist  Mission.  A  week  later  the 
Empress  Dowager  returned  to  Pekin  from  her  sum- 
mer palace  in  the  Western  Hills.  From  that  mo- 
ment the  situation  grew  so  rapidly  worse  that  the 
ministers  again  telegraphed  the  foreign  fleet  to  send 
at  once  a  strong  force  for  their  further  protection. 

In  response  to  this  urgent  request  Captain  McCalla, 
the  senior  American  naval  officer  with  the  fleet,  de- 
clared that  he  should  start  for  Pekin  the  next  day. 
The  British  admiral,  Seymour,  promptly  proposed 
to  join  him,  and  other  commanding  officers  entered 
so  heartily  into  the  project  that  on  the  following 
morning,  when  the  expedition  started  by  rail  from 
Tongku,  the  nearest  landing-point,  it  comprised  2066 
troops.  Of  these  112  were  Americans,  915  British, 
450  Germans,  312  Russians,  158  French,  54  Japan- 
ese, 40  Italians,  and  25  Austrians. 

This  force,  made  up  of  sailors  and  marines,  well 
provided  with  light  artillery  and  rapid-fire  guns,  set 
forth  in  high  spirits,  expecting  to  reach  Pekin  that 
very  night,  or,  at  any  rate,  within  twenty-four  hours. 
Nine  days  later  saw  them  still  twenty  miles  from 
their  destination,  short  of  ammunition  and  food, 
encumbered  with  two  hundred  wounded  men,  cut 
off  from  their  base  of  supplies  by  the  destruction 
of  the  railway  behind  them,  as  well  as  in  front, 
unable  to  communicate  either  with  Pekin  or  the 
outside  world  on  account  of  the  telegraph-line  hav- 


224  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

ing  absolutely  disappeared,  while  couriers  with  de- 
spatches were  caught  and  killed  as  fast  as  sent  out. 

From  the  beginning  they  had  been  harassed  by 
hordes  of  Boxers,  and  now  they  were  confronted  by 
five  thousand  imperial  troops,  including  a  strong 
body  of  cavalry,  armed  with  modern  rifles  and  well 
supplied  with  artillery.  Under  the  circumstances  a 
farther  advance  was  impossible,  and  a  retreat  was 
ordered.  At  the  end  of  another  week  the  unfortu- 
nate expedition  reached  Tien-Tsin  exhausted,  de- 
moralized, and  sadly  depleted  in  numbers,  but  hav- 
ing learned  the  bitter  lesson  that  no  small  force  of 
foreigners,  no  matter  how  brave  and  well-armed, 
could  traverse  the  interior  of  China  against  the 
wishes  of  the  Chinese. 

During  the  absence  of  this  expedition  the  fleet 
of  war-ships  lying  off  the  Taku  bar,  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Pei-ho,  had  been  strengthened  by  numerous 
additions.  The  Taku  forts  had  been  captured  after 
six  hours  of  fighting,  and  an  army  of  ten  thousand 
troops  had  advanced  to  the  relief  of  the  foreign 
portion  of  Tien-Tsin,  which  was  being  besieged  by 
Boxers  from  the  walled  city  of  Tien-Tsin  proper. 
Now  the  allied  foreign  troops  turned  their  attention 
to  this  stronghold  and  set  about  its  capture ;  but  it 
held  out  for  three  weeks,  and  did  not  fall  into  their 
hands  until  the  i4th  of  July. 

But  let  us  return  to  the  middle  of  June  and  the 
city  of  Pekin,  where  a  handful  of  foreigners,  cut  off 
from  all  communication  with  the  outside  world,  were 
anxiously  but  confidently  awaiting  the  coming  of 


WAR    CLOUDS  225 

the  McCalla-Seymour  relief  expedition.  All  sorts  of 
rumors  were  afloat  concerning  its  progress  and  po- 
sition, and  one  of  these  so  persistently  asserted  that 
it  would  reach  the  city  by  the  very  evening  on  which 
Rob  and  Jo  entered  Pekin  that  many  persons  as- 
cended the  city  wall  near  the  American  legation, 
and  remained  there  for  hours,  straining  their  eyes 
for  a  sight  of  the  expected  troops.  But  they  did  not 
come;  and  as  the  sun,  transformed  to  a  blood -red 
ball  by  the  smoke  from  many  conflagrations,  disap- 
peared in  the  lowering  west,  the  disappointed  ones 
returned  to  their  homes  doubly  weighted  with  anx- 
iety. 

After  dinner  that  evening  two  guests  sat  with  the 
United  States  minister  and  his  wife,  earnestly  dis- 
cussing the  situation.  They  were  an  American  tour- 
ist and  his  daughter,  who,  not  realizing  the  danger 
of  their  position,  had  lingered  one  day  too  long  in 
Pekin,  and  then,  owing  to  the  sudden  destruction  of 
the  railway,  found  it  impossible  to  leave.  The  sub- 
ject of  their  present  conversation  was  a  note  from 
the  Tsung  Li  Yamen  (Chinese  State  Department) 
received  by  the  minister  a  few  hours  earlier.  It  de- 
clared the  situation  in  Pekin  to  have  reached  such 
a  stage  that  the  authorities  could  not  undertake  to 
protect  the  ministers  longer  than  twenty-four  hours 
from  the  date  of  the  note,  which  also  urged  their  de- 
parture, under  Chinese  escort,  for  Tien-Tsin. 

"Are  you  going  to  accept  that  proposition?"  asked 
the  tourist. 

"Frankly,  I  don't  know,"  replied  the  minister. 
15 


226  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

"Certainly  we  cannot  leave  within  the  time  limit 
specified.  It  won't  do  for  us  to  abandon  the  mis- 
sionaries, and  they  declare  they  will  not  desert  their 
converts,  whom  we,  of  course,  could  not  take  with 
us." 

"What  means  of  transportation  should  we  have  if 
you  did  decide  to  leave,  now  that  the  railway  is  no 
longer  in  operation?" 

"We  have  demanded  carts,  boats,  provisions,  and 
that  a  member  of  the  Tsung  Li  Yamen  high  in  au- 
thority shall  accompany  us.  This,  of  course,  is  play- 
ing for  delay,  that  we  may  have  more  time  in  which 
to  hear  from  Seymour's  expedition.  It  is  now  four 
days  since  the  last  word  came  from  it,  and  we  must 
know  its  position  before  starting.  No,  I  don't  be- 
lieve we  will  leave  within  twenty-four  hours,  though 
some  of  my  colleagues  think  differently  and  already 
are  packing  their  effects." 

"  My  daughter  and  I  will  not  try  to  carry  out  any- 
thing but  our  hand-bags,  which  can  be  made  ready 
at  a  moment's  notice,"  said  the  tourist. 

"  You  are  wise.  I  shall  attempt  to  carry  very  little 
myself,  and  my  baggage  will  consist  largely  of  state 
papers,  which  already  are  packed  for  transporta- 
tion." 

"Then  you  are  pretty  certain  that  we  will  go 
sooner  or  later?" 

"Yes,  sooner  or  later,  for  the  city  is  growing  un- 
tenable. The  hour  of  our  departure  probably  will 
be  decided  by  the  morning  advices  from  the  Tsung 
Li  Yamen.  If  no  word  should  come  from  them, 


WAR    CLOUDS  227 

Von  Ketteler,  who  does  not  agree  that  it  is  necessary 
for  us  to  leave  Pekin,  declares  he  will  go  to  them  and 
demand  satisfactory  guarantees  for  our  safety." 

"It  will  be  a  bold  thing  to  do." 

"Yes,  it  will,  especially  as  Von  Ketteler  recently 
incurred  the  additional  ill-will  of  all  Boxers  by  per- 
sonally beating  with  his  stick  one  of  them  whom  he 
caught  parading  Legation  Street  in  the  full  regalia 
of  his  infamous  society.  He  is  a  brave  man,  but, 
unfortunately,  he  regards  the  Chinese  with  a  con- 
tempt that  will,  I  fear,  lead  him  into  difficulties." 

At  this  moment  a  servant  announced  Lieutenant 
Hibbard. 

"Excuse  me,  sir,  for  disturbing  you,"  said  this 
individual,  after  he  had  saluted  those  present,  "but 
it  seemed  best  to  report  a  rather  peculiar  case.  Two 
young  Chinese,  wearing  the  Boxer  uniform,  have  just 
been  arrested,  and  are  now  held  by  the  guard  at 
the  gate.  They  demand  an  interview  with  the 
American  minister,  and,  curiously  enough,  both  of 
them  speak  English  remarkably  well — at  least,  so 
the  corporal  of  the  guard  says,  for  I  have  not  yet 
seen  them  myself." 

"Are  they  armed?"  asked  the  minister. 

"  Yes,  sir.  That  is,  they  were  armed  with  revolv- 
ers, but,  of  course,  those  were  taken  from  them." 

"Very  well,  let  these  English-speaking  Boxers  be 
brought  in,  under  guard,  and  we  will  hear  what  they 
have  to  say  for  themselves — unless  this  young  lady 
objects  to  their  presence,"  he  added. 

"Oh  no,  sir;  of  course  I  don't!"  exclaimed  the 


228  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

girl,  who  hitherto  had  listened  in  silence,  but  with 
intense  interest,  to  the  conversation  between  her 
father  and  the  minister.  "I  want  ever  so  much  to 
see  a  Boxer  whom  I  can  be  certain  really  is  one." 

In  another  minute  the  prisoners,  guarded  by  two 
heavily  armed  marines,  were  ushered  into  the  room. 
"Pretty  tough-looking  characters,  aren't  they?" 
asked  the  lieutenant  of  the  girl,  by  whose  side  he  had 
taken  a  position  as  though  to  protect  her  in  case  of 
trouble. 

"Yes,"  she  replied,  hesitatingly.  "But  do  you 
know,"  she  added,  in  a  low  tone,  "the  face  of  one 
of  them  seems  very  familiar.  I  mean  the  one  with 
the  queue." 

"Oh,  all  Chinamen  look  alike,"  replied  the  officer, 
carelessly.  "  I've  seen  a  hundred  that  you'd  think 
were  twin  brothers  of  the  other  one,  the  tougher 
of  the  two.  I  expect  he  has  murdered  more  con- 
verts than  he  could  count." 

Just  here  the  minister,  who  had  stepped  for  a 
moment  into  his  office,  returned,  and  at  once  pro- 
ceeded to  question  the  prisoners. 

"  I  am  told  that  you  speak  English;  who  are  you, 
and  why  do  you  come  here?"  he  asked. 

"Are  you  the  American  minister?"  cautiously  in- 
quired the  one  whom  the  lieutenant  had  indicated 
as  being  the  tougher-looking  of  the  two. 

"I  am." 

"Well,  then,  we've  come  to  tell  you  that  the 
American  and  British  relief  expedition  you  are  ex- 
pecting has  been  attacked  by  more  than  five  thou- 


WAR    CLOUDS  229 

sand  imperial  troops.  It  has  been  badly  cut  up, 
and  now  is  in  full  retreat  towards  Tien-Tsin." 

"Impossible!"  gasped  the  minister. 

"  It  is  true,  sir ;  and  if  you  leave  this  city  to-morrow 
in  the  hope  of  reaching  Tien-Tsin  you  will  be  killed  as 
soon  as  you  pass  the  city  gates.  An  edict  was  issued 
from  the  palace  to-day  for  the  extermination  of  all 
foreigners  in  Pekin,  and  an  attack  on  the  legations 
will  be  begun  at  four  o'clock  to-morrow  afternoon." 

"Who  are  you?"  demanded  the  startled  minister, 
"and  what  proof  can  you  give  that  your  astounding 
statements  are  true?" 

"I  am  an  American,  of  course,"  replied  Rob,  in  a 
tone  expressive  of  surprise  that  any  one  should 
question  his  nationality,  "and  my  friend  here  is  a 
son  of  Mandarin  Li  Ching  Cheng,  recently  a  member 
of  the  Tsung  Li  Yamen.  He  was  put  to  death  a 
few  hours  since  for  having  tried  to  protect  foreigners 
instead  of  killing  them.  My  friend  and  I  got  ac- 
quainted in  the  States,  where  he  was  being  educated, 
and—" 

"His  name  is  Joseph  Lee!"  cried  the  American 
girl,  no  longer  able  to  restrain  herself,  and  springing 
to  her  feet  in  her  excitement.  "  I  knew  I  had  seen 
him  before!" 

"  But  who  are  you,  sir?  What  is  your  own  name?" 
interrupted  the  minister,  sternly. 

"  Hinckley,"  replied  Rob,  but  not  withdrawing  his 
eyes  from  the  flushed  face  of  the  girl;  and,  speaking 
to  her,  he  added:  "I  knew  you  and  your  father  as 
soon  as  I  saw  you,  Miss  Lorimer,  but  I  thought 


230  THE    BLUE    DRAGON  . 

that  perhaps  you  wouldn't  care  to  recognize  us  in 
this  costume." 

"As  if  any  one  could!"  cried  Annabel  Lorimer. 
"I  am  sure  you  wouldn't  recognize  yourself  if  you 
could  see  how  horrible  you  look.  Even  now  I  only 
recognize  your  voice.  Should  you  have  known  him, 
papa?" 

"No,"  replied  Mr.  Lorimer,  staring  hard  at  Rob; 
"and  I  am  not  certain  that  I  do  even  now." 

"Is  your  first  name  Robert?"  asked  the  lieuten- 
ant of  marines;  "and  were  you  ever  on  board  the 
United  States  monitor  Monterey?" 

"Yes,  my  name  is  Robert  Hinckley.  I  was 
aboard  the  Monterey  about  four  months  ago,  and 
you  are  Ensign  Hibbard,"  was  the  reply. 

"He's  all  right,  sir!"  exclaimed  the  lieutenant, 
turning  to  the  minister.  "I  know  him  well,  and 
can  swear  that  somewhere  about  him  he's  got  a  skin 
as  white  as  mine." 

"Well,"  said  the  minister,  his  stern  face  breaking 
into  a  smile,  "I'll  take  your  word  for  it,  Mr.  Hib- 
bard, but  even  you  must  acknowledge  that  its 
whiteness  is  pretty  effectually  concealed  at  present. 
Mr.  Hinckley,  I  am  much  pleased  to  meet  you,  espe- 
cially as  you  must  be  a  son  of  Dr.  Mason  Hinckley, 
whom  I  long  have  counted  as  among  my  friends. 
But  the  news  you  bring  is  of  such  momentous  char- 
acter that  I  must  ask  for  further  details,  even  before 
extending  to  you  the  hospitalities  of  the  legation. 
Will  you  and  your  friend  sit  down  and  kindly  tell  us 
everything  that  you  know  concerning  the  situation  ?" 


CHAPTER  XXVII 
CHINA    DEFIES    THE    WORLD 

THE  startling  news  conveyed  to  the  American 
legation  by  our  lads  was  transmitted  to  all  the  other 
ministers  that  same  night,  and  it  at  once  put  an 
end  to  the  preparations  for  departure.  It  was 
further  discussed  at  a  meeting  held  the  next  morning, 
when  it  was  determined  that  their  only  chance  for 
safety  lay  in  remaining  where  they  were  and  de- 
fending themselves  to  the  best  of  their  ability.  It 
had  been  hoped  that  some  members  of  the  Tsung 
Li  Yamen  would  attend  this  meeting,  but  none 
appeared.  The  German  minister,  Baron  von  Ket- 
teler,  thereupon  reaffirmed  his  intention  of  going  to 
the  yamen  and  demanding  a  conference.  More- 
over, to  show  his  contempt  for  the  Chinese,  he  de- 
clared that  he  would  go  unarmed  and  unescorted, 
save  by  his  official  interpreter,  Mr.  Cordes. 

No  entreaties  served  to  deter  the  brave  but  ob- 
stinate man  from  his  mad  enterprise.  Entering  his 
sedan  -  chair,  which  he  had  furnished  with  cigars 
and  reading-matter  to  aid  him  in  passing  the  time 
if  he  should  be  compelled  to  wait  at  the  yamen,  he 
set  forth,  followed  by  his  interpreter  in  another 

231 


232  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

chair,  and  preceded  by  a  Chinese  outrider  attached 
to  the  legation. 

Just  before  their  departure  the  American  minister 
had  requested  Rob  Hinckley,  who,  still  disguised  as 
a  Chinese,  might  traverse  the  streets  without  detec- 
tion as  a  foreigner,  to  proceed  to  the  Methodist  Mis- 
sion, nearly  a  mile  away,  and  warn  its  inmates  to 
make  ready  for  a  speedy  retreat  to  the  legation 
grounds.  Jo  also  was  asked  to  go  out  and  make 
special  note  of  what  the  people  of  the  city  were 
saying. 

So  the  two  lads  set  forth,  going  by  way  of  Instruct 
the  People  Street,  called  by  foreigners  Legation 
Street,  past  the  Hotel  de  Pe'kin,  in  which  the 
Lorimers  were  staying,  and  where  Rob  wished  he 
might  make  a  call.  From  there  they  held  their  way 
eastward  to  Ha-ta  (Great)  Street,  which  they  found 
thronged  with  citizens  and  soldiery.  They  walked 
slowly  up  this  broad  avenue,  paying  close  attention 
to  scraps  of  conversation,  until  they  came  to  Filial 
Piety  Alley,  into  which  they  should  have  turned  to 
gain  the  mission  compound  by  the  shortest  route. 

Instead  of  so  doing,  they  hesitated,  attracted  by 
a  decided  and  excited  movement  towards  the  north 
of  the  swarming  populace.  Involuntarily,  they 
joined  it,  and  continued  to  make  their  way  slowly 
up  Ha-ta  Street,  until  they  had  nearly  reached  the 
Pai-lou,  or  wooden  arch,  that  spanned  the  middle  of 
the  roadway,  just  below  Tsung  Pu  Alley.  At  this 
point  they  saw  two  sedan-chairs,  preceded  by  an 
outrider  in  the  livery  of  the  German  Legation,  come 


CHINA    DEFIES    THE    WORLD  233 

from  the  Street  of  Permanent  Peace  into  Ha-ta 
Street,  and  turn  north  ahead  of  them.  As  they 
halted  in  their  walk  and  stood  watching  this  little 
procession,  Jo  was  saying: 

"  In  case  of  serious  trouble,  Rob,  I  believe  I  could 
do  more  good  outside  in  the  city  than  if  I  were  to 
stay  shut  up  in  a  legation.  There,  also,  I  should 
always  be  an  object  of  more  or  less  suspicion,  on  ac- 
count of  being  a  Chinese.  Of  course,  I  sha'n't  leave 
you  unless  it  seems  best  to  do  so;  but  if  we  are 
separated,  don't  forget  the  old  academy  call." 

"Do  you  mean  the  'Hi-ho'  call?" 

"Yes;  and  isn't  it  queer  that  it  should  be  the 
same  as  the  first  two  names  of  the  I-Ho-Chuan?" 

At  that  instant  the  sharp  report  of  a  rifle  rang 
out  a  short  distance  up  the  street.  For  a  moment 
it  was  followed  by  a  deathlike  hush.  Then  pande- 
monium broke  loose.  Other  shots  were  fired  in 
quick  succession,  and  the  street  populace,  trans- 
formed into  a  howling  mob,  swarmed  towards  the 
scene  of  tragedy,  yelling  like  demons:  "Kill  the  for- 
eign devils!  Kill!  Kill!  Kill!" 

A  horseman  fled  before  them.  Two  sedan-chairs 
were  dropped  by  their  terrified  bearers,  who  also 
took  to  their  heels.  From  one  of  the  chairs  a  man 
leaped  and  ran  for  his  life,  but  from  the  other  came 
neither  sound  nor  motion.  In  it  sat  Baron  von 
Ketteler,  the  Kaiser's  representative  in  China,  shot 
to  death  by  a  Chinese  officer  of  imperial  troops. 
To-day  a  magnificent  memorial  arch  of  marble  spans 
the  busy  roadway  above  the  spot  where  he  was  killed. 


234  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

"Come!"  gasped  Rob,  as  he  realized  the  awful 
nature  of  the  tragedy.  "That  shot  is  China's  dec- 
laration of  war  against  the  world.  We  must  warn 
the  mission!" 

With  this  our  lads  darted  into  the  near-by  Tsung 
Pu  Alley.  At  first  their  progress  was  impeded  by 
people  running  in  the  opposite  direction;  but  in  a 
couple  of  minutes  these  had  been  left  behind,  and 
they  were  free  to  hasten  on  at  full  speed.  All  at 
once  a  foreigner,  hatless,  haggard,  and  bleeding, 
dropped  from  a  low  compound  wall  into  the  alley 
close  beside  them.  Behind  him  sounded  the  fierce 
cries  of  a  pursuing  mob. 

"It  is  the  interpreter!"  exclaimed  Jo.  "Go  with 
him  and  get  him  to  the  mission!  Take  the  first 
right  and  second  left.  I  will  lead  those  who  are 
after  him  another  way.  Quick!  Good-bye!" 

Rob  instantly  comprehended,  and  started  after 
the  fugitive,  who  now  was  staggering  from  weakness 
caused  by  loss  of  blood.  At  sight  of  the  lad's  Boxer 
uniform  the  man  tried  to  beat  him  off,  but  on  hear- 
ing the  words  in  English — "It  is  all  right!  I  am 
American  " — he  submitted  to  Rob's  guidance. 

As  they  hurried  around  the  first  right-hand  turn 
they  came  face  to  face  with  a  Boxer  armed  with  a 
spear.  Without  giving  him  time  to  recognize  them, 
our  young  American  sprang  upon  him,  knocked  him 
down,  took  away  his  weapon,  and  left  him  in  a  state 
of  dazed  uncertainty  as  to  what  had  happened. 

After  running  a  little  farther  the  fugitives  paused 
to  listen,  but  could  hear  no  sounds  of  pursuit.  Jo 


CHINA    DEFIES    THE    WORLD  235 

had  succeeded  in  diverting  it  to  another  direction. 
Then  they  proceeded  more  slowly,  the  wounded  man 
leaning  heavily  on  Rob's  shoulder.  Curious  faces 
peered  at  them  from  dark  portals  as  they  passed, 
and  more  than  one  whom  they  met  turned  to  give 
them  a  wondering  look;  but  Rob's  uniform  and 
spear  protected  them  from  interference,  and  finally 
they  reached  a  side  gateway  of  the  mission  com- 
pound. Here  the  wounded  man  fell  in  a  faint,  but 
the  American  marine  on  guard  sprang  to  his  aid,  and, 
recognizing  in  Rob's  voice  that  of  a  fellow-country- 
man, assisted  him  to  carry  the  German  inside. 

"Call  your  officer,  quick  as  you  can,"  ordered 
our  lad,  as  he  knelt  beside  the  wounded  man  and 
dashed  water  in  his  face.  "It  is  a  matter  of  life  or 
death  for  us  all." 

In  another  minute  Captain  Hall  came  running  to 
the  post,  and  in  a  few  words  Rob  explained  who 
he  was  and  what  had  happened,  at  the  same  time 
exhibiting  a  proof  of  identity  given  him  by  the 
American  minister. 

"He  sent  word,"  continued  Rob,  "for  all  foreign 
inmates  of  this  compound  to  pack  up  immediately 
and  be  prepared  to  retreat  to  the  legation  at  a  mo- 
ment's notice.  Now  I  will  leave  this  wounded  man 
in  your  care,  for  I  must  hurry  back  and  let  him 
know  what  has  happened.  Can  you  let  me  have 
one  of  your  men  to  identify  me  at  the  Italian  barri- 
cade across  Legation  Street?  If  I  go  alone  I  am 
afraid  they  won't  let  me  pass,  for  they  were  ugly 
and  threatened  us  when  we  came  out." 


336  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

"Certainly.  Turner,  go  with  Mr.  Hinckley,  and 
see  him  safely  past  the  barricade." 

"This  is  a  rum  go,"  said  the  marine,  as  they  left 
the  gate  and  hurried  towards  Ha-ta  Street.  "I've 
done  a  lot  of  funny  things  in  the  Philippines,  and 
seen  a  lot  more  in  China,  but  I'm  blessed  if  ever 
I  expected  to  safe-conduct  a  bloody  Boxer  through 
the  streets  of  Pekin." 

"Perhaps  he  is  safe  -  conducting  you,"  replied 
Rob,  indicating,  as  he  spoke,  a  group  of  Chinese 
soldiers  wearing  red  Boxer  hats,  who  were  regarding 
the  marine  with  very  ugly  looks. 

"  I  don't  know  but  what  you  are  right,"  admitted 
Turner.  "They  do  look  wolfy,  and  I  almost  wish 
I  had  another  pukka  Johnny  along  to  come  back 
with  me." 

"I'll  come  back  with  you  if  you  will  go  all  the 
way  to  the  legation  with  me." 

"Done!  The  cap'n  didn't  say  how  far  I  was  to 
escort  you.  He  only  said,  'past  the  barricade,'  and 
maybe  there's  more  than  one  by  this  time.  But 
what's  the  matter  with  riding?  We'd  get  there 
twice  as  quick.  Hi,  there,  'rikisha  coolie.  You 
wanchee  catchee  one  piecee  dollar  ?  You  makee  go 
ossoty  Melican  consoo  house.  Savvy?" 

"All  litee  sojo  man,  can  do,"  was  the  reply;  and 
a  big,  double  jinrikisha,  drawn  by  two  coolies  and 
pushed  by  two  more,  rolled  up  to  where  the  Ameri- 
cans were  standing.  Even  on  the  eve  of  open  hostil- 
ities the  thrifty  Chinese  of  Pekin  were  perfectly  will- 
ing to  make  an  honest  dollar  by  serving  their  enemies. 


CHINA    DEFIES    THE    WORLD  237 

Jumping  in,  they  set  off  at  a  great  pace,  the 
'rikisha  men  yelling  at  the  top  of  their  voices  for 
pedestrians  to  clear  the  way,  and  not  hesitating  to 
knock  right  and  left  those  who  failed  to  heed  their 
warnings. 

Acting  on  Turner's  advice,  Rob  took  off  his  red 
hat,  and,  sitting  as  low  as  possible,  was  partially 
screened  from  observation  by  the  marine,  who  held 
himself  very  straight  and  sat  well  forward.  The 
guard  at  the  Italian  barricade  made  a  motion  as 
though  to  halt  them,  but  Turner,  yelling  to  his 
coolies  to  keep  on  or  he  would  jab  them  with  his 
bayonet,  called  out: 

"It's  all  right,  Dagoes!  Official  business!  Can't 
stop!  So  long!  See  you  later!" 

Then  they  bowled  up  Legation  Street  at  a  rattling 
pace,  clattered  over  the  imperial  canal  bridge,  and 
in  another  minute  were  at  the  American  Legation. 
Five  minutes  later  the  electrifying  news  of  Baron 
von  Ketteler's  assassination  had  been  told. 

"That  settles  it!"  cried  the  minister,  who  was 
a  veteran  soldier  of  the  great  American  civil  war. 
"Now  we  know  exactly  where  we  stand.  The 
Chinese  have  declared  for  war,  and  they  shall  have 
war  to  their  hearts'  content.  As  for  us  who  are  in 
Pekin,  we  will  stay  right  here  and  fight  for  our  lives. 
If  we  are  wiped  out,  the  Chinese  nation  will  cease 
to  exist  shortly  afterwards.  Even  if  we  survive  to 
be  rescued,  the  punishment  visited  upon  it  for  this 
day's  crime  will  be  one  of  the  bitterest  in  history. 
But  now  we  haven't  a  moment  to  lose.  Are  you 


338  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

willing  to  return  to  the  mission  with  an  order  for 
its  inmates  to  set  out  for  this  place  within  half  an 
hour?" 

"Of  course  I  am,  sir,"  replied  Rob. 

"Then  go,  and  come  back  with  them.  I  will  at 
once  notify  the  German  Legation  of  this  terrible 
happening,  and  advise  that  they  send  a  squad  of 
marines  to  bring  back  their  wounded  interpreter. 
God  bless  you,  lad!  I  am  glad  to  have  you  with  us 
in  this  time  of  our  trouble." 

"And  I,  sir,  am  mighty  glad  to  be  here." 

In  less  than  an  hour  after  Rob's  report  to  the 
minister  a  long  procession  of  refugees  issued  from 
the  mouth  of  Filial  Piety  Alley,  and  turned  into 
Ha-ta  Street,  where  it  was  watched  by  crowding 
thousands  of  impassive  Chinese.  First  came  twen- 
ty American  marines,  hardy-looking  fellows,  bronzed 
by  long  service  in  the  Philippines,  under  command 
of  Captain  Hall.  These  were  followed  by  the  Amer- 
ican women  and  children  of  the  mission  and  one 
hundred  and  twenty-six  Chinese  girl  pupils  of  the 
mission  school.  Then  came  Chinese  Christian  wom- 
en with  their  children,  followed  by  a  large  body 
of  Chinese  men  and  boy  converts.  After  them 
marched  a  stern -looking  group  of  German  marines, 
bearing  and  guarding  a  stretcher,  on  which  lay  the 
wounded  legation  interpreter  whom  Rob  had  been 
so  instrumental  in  saving.  The  rear  was  brought 
up  by  a  body  of  resolute  -  appearing  missionaries 
armed  with  rifles  and  revolvers.  With  these  marched 
Rob  Hinckley,  no  longer  disguised  as  a  Boxer,  but 


CHINA    DEFIES    THE    WORLD  239 

clad  in  the  costume  of  his  own  people,  and  bearing 
himself  with  the  self-confidence  of  one  who  had 
undergone  a  long  experience  in  affairs  like  the  pres- 
ent. The  Chinese  converts  numbered  over  one 
thousand,  and  every  member  of  the  long  procession 
was  laden  with  food,  clothing,  household  effects,  or 
whatever  portable  things  they  had  considered  of 
greatest  value. 

At  the  Italian  barricade  on  Legation  Street  it 
was  met  by  the  remaining  marines  of  the  American 
guard  and  escorted  to  the  legation.  Although  the 
streets  were  crowded  with  Chinese  soldiers,  Boxers, 
and  citizens,  no  attempt  was  made  to  interfere  in 
any  way  with  the  flight  of  these  refugees,  and  that 
afternoon  they  were  quartered  within  the  spacious 
walls  of  the  British  Legation  compound,  where  all 
foreigners,  except  those  already  sustaining  attack 
in  the  Roman  Catholic  cathedral,  were  gathered  for 
protection. 

Here  was  a  scene  to  beggar  description.  Streams 
of  carts,  and  swarms  of  coolies  laden  with  provisions, 
baggage,  and  household  effects,  were  pouring  in  from 
every  direction.  The  numerous  low,  one  -  story 
buildings  of  the  legation  were  being  assigned  to 
different  nationalities,  or  set  apart  for  specific  pur- 
poses. Men,  women,  and  children,  diplomats,  sol- 
diers, missionaries,  railway  engineers,  bank  clerks, 
customs  employe's,  servants,  and  coolies,  speaking 
every  language  under  the  sun,  dogs  and  ponies, 
rapid-fire  guns,  jinrikishas,  carts,  and  wheelbarrows, 
furniture,  bedding,  provisions,  cases  of  wine,  barrels 


240  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

of  beer,  and  a  thousand  other  things,  all  were  mixed 
in  apparently  inextricable  confusion. 

At  precisely  four  o'clock  General  Tung-Fu-Hsang's 
soldiers  from  Kwang-su  opened  fire  with  a  sharp 
volley  of  musketry  from  the  city  streets,  and  the 
siege  of  the  Pekin  legations  was  begun. 


CHAPTER    XXVIII 
FIGHTING    SIXTY    FEET    ABOVE    GROUND 

ALTHOUGH  the  heavily  walled  compound  of  the 
British  Legation,  which  during  the  siege  sheltered 
four  hundred  foreigners  and  as  many  more  Chinese 
Christians,  or  nearly  one  thousand  persons  in  all, 
was  the  stronghold  of  the  defence,  the  lines  occupied 
and  held  embraced  a  wide  outside  area,  both  to  the 
eastward  and  on  the  south.  Beyond  the  imperial 
canal,  just  east  of  the  legation,  stood  an  extensive 
collection  of  buildings  enclosed  by  a  wall,  forming 
the  yamen,  or  palace,  of  Prince  Su.  On  the  first  day 
of  the  siege  this  was  seized  and  occupied  as  quarters 
for  the  hundreds  of  school-girls  and  native  Christians 
whom  the  missionaries  had  refused  to  abandon.  It 
was  defended  by  the  Japanese,  assisted  by  the  Ital- 
ian and  Austrian  marines,  and  though  it  was  subject 
to  many  fierce  attacks  and  an  almost  continuous 
bombardment  that  set  its  buildings  on  fire  a  dozen 
times,  it  never  was  given  up. 

Besides  this  outpost,  the  American,  Russian, 
German,  Japanese,  and  French  legations  also  were 
held,  as  was  the  Hotel  de  Pekin  of  M.  Charnot  and 
his  brave  American  wife.  It  was  strongly  fortified 
with  sand-bags,  and  sent  out  to  its  guests,  who  had 
16  241 


242  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

taken  refuge  in  the  British  Legation,  three  meals  a 
day  with  unbroken  regularity  during  the  siege.  A 
large  portion  of  Legation  Street  also  was  included 
within  the  foreign  lines.  On  it  stood  a  grain-shop, 
in  which  were  found  eight  thousand  bushels  of  wheat 
and  several  tons  of  rice,  together  with  eleven  one- 
mule  mills,  ready  for  grinding.  As  there  were  in  all 
some  three  thousand  persons  to  be  fed,  this  food 
supply  proved  invaluable. 

At  first  an  Austrian  captain,  named  Thomann,  by 
virtue  of  seniority,  assumed  command  of  the  de- 
fending force;  but  on  the  second  day  of  the  siege, 
he  having  proved  himself  incapable,  the  supreme 
command  was,  by  unanimous  consent,  given  to  Sir 
Claude  Macdonald,  the  British  minister.  Captain 
Thomann  was  killed  a  few  weeks  later  during  an 
attack  on  the  Su  Yamen,  and  now  one  of  the  streets 
of  Pekin  bears  his  name. 

Under  Sir  Claude's  intelligent  supervision  all  the 
details  of  housing  and  feeding  three  thousand  people, 
of  preparing  and  placing  fifty  thousand  sand -bags, 
of  hospital  and  sanitary  arrangements,  and  a  thou- 
sand other  things,  were  quickly  systematized  and 
placed  in  the  hands  of  carefully  selected  committees. 
The  work  of  fortifying  the  legations  was  given  over 
to  a  young  American  missionary  engineer,  while  the 
actual  duty  of  defence  was  distributed  according  to 
nationality. 

The  British  Legation  compound,  including  the 
northwest  angle  of  the  whole  line,  was  left  to  the 
resident  inmates — ministers,  attache's,  missionaries, 


FIGHTING    SIXTY    FEET    ABOVE    GROUND          243 

etc.  The  Su  Yamen  and  northeast  angle  were  in- 
trusted to  the  Japanese,  aided  by  Italians  and 
Austrians.  At  the  southeast  angle  were  French  and 
Germans,  the  latter  occupying  a  section  of  the  great 
city  wall,  from  which,  however,  they  ultimately  were 
driven.  On  the  southwest  were  the  Americans  and 
Russians,  in  their  own  legations,  with  the  former 
holding  their  own  section  of  city  wall.  This  po- 
sition, in  spite  of  continuous  shelling  and  repeated 
assaults,  was  held  by  American  marines  to  the  end; 
and,  commanding,  as  it  did,  the  entire  legation  area, 
it  proved  the  key  to  the  situation. 

On  the  ist  of  July,  or  after  ten  days  of  siege, 
during  which  time  the  Chinese  fire  of  rifle -bullets, 
solid  shot,  and  shell  had  been  maintained  almost 
without  intermission  from  one  quarter  or  another, 
thirty-five  of  the  defenders  had  been  killed  and 
nearly  twice  that  number  were  in  the  hospital.  The 
Germans  had  been  driven  from  their  section  of  the 
wall,  the  French  Legation  had  been  destroyed,  and 
several  sorties,  made  for  the  purpose  of  capturing 
or  at  least  silencing  certain  particularly  annoying 
Chinese  guns,  had  proved  unsuccessful.  In  all  this 
time  no  news  had  been  received,  nor  had  it  proved 
possible  to  send  any  out;  and  it  was  not  probable 
that  the  desperate  plight  of  the  Pekin  legations  was 
even  known  to  the  outside  world. 

The  bright  spots  in  this  gloom  were  that  there 
still  was  plenty  to  eat  and  to  drink  within  the  lines, 
the  defences  were  constantly  being  strengthened  by 
additional  sand-bags,  which  the  ladies  and  Chinese 


244  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

women  were  turning  out  by  the  thousand,  the 
plucky  Japanese  still  held  the  Su  Yamen,  and 
American  marines  still  maintained  their  position  on 
the  wall.  Also,  very  early  in  the  siege  the  latter, 
dragging  their  Colt's  automatic  gun  up  to  their  ele- 
vated post,  had  made  a  raid  along  the  top  of  the 
wall  for  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  driving  the  Kwang-su 
troops  in  wild  confusion  before  them,  and  mowing 
them  down  by  hundreds. 

Now,  however,  the  Chinese,  profiting  by  this  sad 
experience,  had  advanced  a  series  of  brick  and  sand- 
bag approaches,  against  which  the  Colt  proved  in- 
effective. At  the  end  of  the  last  one  the  Chinese 
had  erected  a  small  tower,  only  a  few  feet  from  the 
American  barricade,  and  commanding  it.  From  this, 
while  protected  against  a  return  fire,  they  hurled 
down  huge  bricks  upon  the  defenders,  who  were  un- 
able to  reply.  At  the  same  time  the  American  po- 
sition, isolated  since  the  Germans  on  the  east  had 
been  driven  from  their  wall,  was  exposed  to  a  gall- 
ing fire  from  both  directions.  The  situation  thus 
had  become  critical  in  the  extreme;  for,  if  the  Chi- 
nese could  succeed  in  forcing  this  position,  the  lega- 
tions would  lie  at  their  mercy. 

The  top  of  the  wall  at  this  point  was  reached  from 
the  inside  by  two  ramps,  or  sloping  walks,  that  led 
upward  like  the  two  legs  of  a  letter  A.  One  of 
these  was  controlled  by  the  Americans,  whose  barri- 
cades were  at  its  upper  end,  while  the  other  was  in 
possession  of  the  Chinese. 

From  the  outset  Rob  Hinckley  had  cast  his  lot 


FIGHTING    SIXTY    FEET    ABOVE    GROUND         245 

with  the  American  marines,  largely  on  account  of 
his  liking  for  Turner,  the  sharp-shooter,  whose  ac- 
quaintance he  had  made  on  that  first  memorable 
day  of  the  siege.  On  the  morning  of  July  3d  these 
two  had  come  down  from  the  danger  post  for  a 
much-needed  rest  after  a  forty-eight-hour  tour  of 
duty  on  the  wall.  At  sunset  they  were  to  return 
to  the  almost  untenable  barricades.  In  the  mean 
time,  they  slept  like  logs  until  late  in  the  afternoon, 
when  they  were  awakened  to  partake  of  a  meal  of 
cold  boiled  mule  "beef,"  rice,  hard  bread,  and  tea. 

"Look  here,  young  man,"  said  Turner,  pausing 
for  a  moment  in  his  hearty  eating,  "I  don't  see 
why  you  should  go  up  on  that  old  rockery  again  to- 
night. You  ain't  'listed,  and  don't  have  to." 

"I  have  to  just  as  much  now  as  I  did  at  first," 
replied  Rob,  quietly,  "and  you  didn't  say  anything 
against  it  then." 

"  Things  have  changed.  We  seemed  to  have  some 
show  then,  with  the  Germans  to  look  out  for  one  side ; 
but  we  haven't  any  now,  and  I  don't  see  how  we 
can  hold  the  place  through  another  night.  You've 
noticed  that  the  Chinks  always  get  busier  at  night 
than  in  the  daytime,  and  now  they  are  right  on  top 
of  us." 

"The  only  wonder  to  me  is  that  they  haven't 
cleaned  us  out  long  since,"  said  Rob.  "They  cer- 
tainly have  fired  shots  enough  to  destroy  an  army, 
let  alone  a  couple  of  dozen  men,  which  is  as  many 
as  we  ever  have  had  up  there  at  one  time." 

"It  is  a  funny  business,"  admitted  Turner,  "and 


246  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

I  have  puzzled  over  it  a  good  deal  myself.  Do  you 
know  what  I  think?  I  believe  that  heavy  firing 
from  the  Ha-ta  tower  is  all  a  bluff  and  is  mostly 
done  with  blank  cartridges.  If  it  isn't,  we  ought, 
by  rights,  to  have  been  swept  off  the  wall  like  puff- 
balls  in  a  gale,  long  ago.  There's  another  thing.  It 
looks  to  me  as  if  about  nine  out  of  every  ten  of  the 
Chinks'  rifle-shots  must  be  fired  straight  up  in  the 
air,  same  as  we  kids  used  to  do  on  Fourth  of  July. 
At  night,  when  they  fire  most,  I  believe  they  all 
shoot  into  the  air,  'cause  you  never  hear  of  anybody 
getting  hit  at  night,  and  they  sure  shoot  to  beat  the 
band.  Looks  like  they  were  only  trying  to  scare 
us  or  kill  us  by  keeping  us  from  sleeping — I  don't 
know  which." 

"Speaking  of  the  Fourth  of  July,"  said  Rob,  "do 
you  remember  that  to-morrow  is  the  Fourth?" 

"Sure,  and  I'm  wondering  if  I'll  live  to  see  it. 
Somehow  I  don't  feel  as  if  I  would." 

"Oh,  pshaw!  Don't  talk  that  way!"  exclaimed 
the  young  volunteer.  "You'll  live  to  see  it,  and 
plenty  more  like  it,  only  a  heap  happier.  I  felt 
blue  myself  this  morning,  but  now,  after  a  day's 
sleep  and  a  good  stuffing  of  mule,  I  feel  all  right." 

At  this  point  the  conversation  was  interrupted 
by  the  entrance  of  Lieutenant  Hibbard,  who  said: 

"Well,  boys,  we  are  in  for  it!  Word  has  gone 
out  that  we've  got  to  capture  those  barricades  to- 
night and  sweep  the  wall  clean  as  far  as  the  Chien 
Men  gate.  There's  a  squad  of  Tommies  going  up 
to  help  us,  and  if  we  don't  do  the  trick  this  time  I 


FIGHTING    SIXTY    FEET    ABOVE    GROUND         247 

am  afraid  it  will  be  all  up  with  the  whole  shooting- 
match.  Of  course,  Hinckley,  you  don't  have  to  go 
unless  you  choose." 

"Of  course  I  do  have  to  go,  Mr.  Hibbard!"  cried 
Rob,  hotly.  "I  should  be  too  ashamed  ever  to  call 
myself  an  American  again  if  I  didn't;  and  if  we 
don't  carry  those  barricades  I  hope  I'll  never  come 
down  again  alive.  What  time  do  we  start?" 

"Orders  are  to  assemble  on  the  wall  as  soon  as 
it  gets  dark  enough  to  go  up  the  ramp  unnoticed." 

"All  right,  sir,  we'll  be  there,"  said  Turner,  "and  I 
know  I'll  never  come  down  again  alive  if  we  don't 
get  the  Chinks  on  a  run.  We  have  got  it  to  do, 
that's  all." 

An  hour  later,  in  the  dusk  of  evening,  a  little 
group  of  twenty  Americans  and  as  many  British 
marines,  all  of  them  picked  men,  crouched  on  the 
lofty  wall  listening  to  the  earnest  but  low-voiced 
words  of  Captain  John  Meyers,  U.S.M.C.,  the  gal- 
lant officer  who  was  to  lead  the  charge  that  would 
mean  life  or  death  to  every  foreigner  then  in  the 
city  of  Pekin.  He  did  not  speak  more  than  a  min- 
ute, but  what  he  said  filled  every  man  who  heard 
him  with  the  spirit  of  a  hero.  When  he  had  fin- 
ished he  leaped  the  barricade  and  started  down  the 
wall,  with  every  man  of  his  little  party  striving  to 
gain  his  side. 

The  Chinese  tower,  from  which  they  had  been  so 
harassed,  went  down  like  a  card -house  before  their 
on -rush.  A  scattering  volley  of  rifle-shots  came 
from  the  barricade,  but  the  Chinese  were  too  com- 


248  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

pletely  taken  by  surprise  to  make  a  stand ;  even  the 
Kwang-su  savages,  who  never  before  had  known 
defeat,  fled  in  dismay  before  that  charge  of  yelling 
Americans,  whose  rifles  seemed  to  pour  forth  a  con- 
tinuous and  inexhaustible  stream  of  deadly  fire.  The 
Chinese  fired  a  few  shots,  hurled  a  few  spears,  and 
then  ran  for  their  lives,  darting  from  one  barricade 
to  another,  but  never  allowed  to  pause,  until  such 
of  them  as  were  left  alive  gained  the  safe  shelter  of 
the  Chien  Men  tower,  a  quarter  of  a  mile  away. 

As  the  jubilant  Americans  streamed  back  towards 
their  own  barricades,  where  ten  of  their  number  had 
been  left  on  guard,  Rob  Hinckley,  proudly  bearing 
a  Chinese  banner  that  he  had  captured,  gave  utter- 
ance to  his  joyful  excitement  in  the  old  academy 
yell  with  which  Hatton  boys  announced  their  vic- 
torious return  from  hard-fought  ball -games.  "  Hi- 
ho!  Hi-ho!  Hat- ton  Hi-ho!"  he  shouted,  and  to  his 
amazement  the  same  call  came  back  like  an  echo 
from  far  beneath  him  in  the  underlying  southern 
city.  "I  wonder  if  it  can  be  Jo!"  he  thought, 
and  shouted  again ;  but  this  time  there  was  no 
reply. 

There  were  no  dead  Chinese,  nor  any  wounded, 
for  a  detachment  of  Russian  marines,  who  had 
charged  up  the  Chinese  ramp  after  the  Americans 
and  British  had  swept  by  its  upper  end,  had  followed 
them,  pitching  every  dead  or  wounded  Chinese  whom 
they  discovered  over  the  parapet  and  down  into  the 
southern  city.  When  these  Russians  met  the  re- 
turning victors  they  reported  that  they  had  found 


;'THE  SAVAGES  FI.ED  IN  DISMAY  BEFORE  THAT  CHARGE  OF 
YELLING  AMERICANS" 


FIGHTING    SIXTY    FEET    ABOVE    GROUND         249 

two  dead  Americans  and  carried  them  back  to  the 
barricades. 

This  news  suddenly  quieted  Rob  Hinckley's  jubi- 
lant shoutings,  for  instantly  he  recalled  Turner's 
foreboding,  and  realized  that  he  had  not  seen  nor 
heard  him  since  that  first  mad  scramble  over  their 
own  barricade.  Now  he  shouted:  "Turner!  O  Tur- 
ner!" but  there  was  no  answer,  and  when  they 
reached  the  American  post  his  worst  fears  were  con- 
firmed. Turner  and  another  marine,  named  Thomas, 
had  been  shot  and  instantly  killed  in  the  brief  space 
between  the  two  barricades.  Here,  too,  had  Cap- 
tain Meyers  received  a  spear  wound  that  he  disre- 
garded until  the  affair  was  ended.  Then  it  sent 
him  to  the  hospital,  where  he  remained  for  weeks. 
One  of  the  British  marines  was  found  to  be  slightly 
wounded,  as  was  one  of  the  Russians;  but  these 
were  the  only  casualties  that  the  legation  defenders 
were  compelled  to  pay  for  the  most  important  victory 
of  the  entire  siege.  By  it  they  had  gained  a  clear 
quarter  of  a  mile  of  wall  that  they  never  afterwards 
gave  up,  and  which  remains  to  this  day  American 
Legation  territory. 


CHAPTER   XXIX 

JO    HEAPS    COALS    OF    FIRE 

TURNER,  crack  shot  of  the  American  marines  and 
one  of  the  best  men  in  the  corps,  was  buried.  Rob 
laid  a  wreath  of  flowers,  twined  by  Annabel  Lorimer, 
on  his  coffin,  and  then  went  back  to  the  wall,  where 
he  was  on  guard  duty  at  the  eastern  barricade.  A 
drizzle  of  rain  had  fallen  since  early  morning.  The 
Fourth  of  July  of  1900,  as  celebrated  by  Americans 
in  Pekin,  had  not  been  a  particularly  happy  or  en- 
joyable day. 

When  Rob  relieved  the  man  who  had  taken  poor 
Turner's  place  on  guard,  the  latter  said: 

"There's  some  chap  down  below  there  in  the 
southern  city  who  has  bothered  me  a  good  deal. 
He  keeps  calling  out,  'I-ho!'  or  something  of  that 
kind,  every  few  minutes,  and  has  been  at  it  for 
more  than  an  hour;  but  I  can't  get  a  sight  of  him 
or  even  locate  him." 

"  Like  this?"  asked  Rob,  at  the  same  time  leaning 
over  the  parapet  and  uttering  clear  and  loud  the 
Hatton  Academy  call. 

"Yes,  that's  exactly  it,"  answered  the  marine. 
"How  did  you  know?  There  he  goes  now — " 

The  answer  had  been  prompt,  but  still  no  one 
250 


JO    HEAPS    COALS    OF    FIRE  251 

likely  to  have  given  it  could  be  discovered.  While 
they  watched  and  speculated  a  Chinese  arrow  came 
flying  up  from  some  unseen  bow,  and  fell  on  the 
wall  just  within  the  barricades. 

"It  was  only  a  trick  to  get  a  pot  shot  at  us!" 
exclaimed  the  marine,  disgustedly;  but  Rob  picked 
up  the  arrow,  wrapped  around  which  he  found  a 
sheet  of  thin  paper.  It  was,  as  he  had  hoped,  a  note 
from  Jo,  that  read  as  follows: 

"DEAR  ROB, — Don't  worry.  Everything  will  come  out 
right  side.  You  have  plenty  friend  in  Pekin,  among  them 
Prince  Ching,  who  tells  that  the  spirits  of  air  are  protect 
you,  and  orders  them  fired  at.  I  have  fire-gun  at  Ha-ta 
tower,  but  only  blank  cartridge.  Make  plenty  noise,  and 
all  body  is  please.  Many  big  gun  cannot  be  use,  for  fear 
shoot  over  and  kill  Chinese  on  other  side.  Now  say  can 
starve  you  out.  If  you  want  send  letter  Tien-Tsin,  drop  it 
over  wall  same  place  to-morrow,  sun  dark,  and  I  take  it." 

From  the  foregoing  it  will  be  seen  that  Jo's  ability 
to  write  English  was  not  equal  to  his  conversation- 
al fluency  in  that  same  tongue;  but  his  letter  was 
readily  understood,  and  gave  great  satisfaction  to 
the  few  persons  in  authority  among  the  defenders, 
who  shortly  afterwards  were  made  acquainted  with 
its  contents. 

Repeated  efforts  had  been  made  to  get  news  of 
their  situation  to  the  outside  world,  but  thus  far  all 
the  messengers  had  been  captured  or  turned  back. 
Now,  with  renewed  hope  a  despatch,  descriptive  of 
the  situation  in  Pekin,  and  imploring  speedy  relief, 
was  prepared  and  given  to  Rob  Hinckley  for  trans- 
mission. 


252  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

At  sunset  he  again  stood  at  the  appointed  place 
on  the  parapet,  and  with  the  first  gathering  of  dusk 
a  low  but  distinct  call  of  "Hi-ho!"  came  up  to  him 
from  the  dark  shadows  at  the  foot  of  the  lofty  wall. 
His  tiny  message,  folded  in  oiled  silk  and  weighted 
with  a  bit  of  brick,  already  was  attached  to  a  thread, 
by  which  it  was  promptly  lowered.  Then  came  a 
slight  jerk  on  the  thread,  and  he  pulled  up  the 
broken  end  to  satisfy  himself  that  the  little  packet 
really  had  been  taken. 

After  this  incident  the  siege  dragged  wearily  on, 
with  frequent  skirmishes  and  constant  firing  on  both 
sides,  but  with  no  decisive  advantage  to  either.  The 
death-list  received  almost  daily  additions,  and  the 
hospitals  became  filled  to  overflowing.  To  the  heats 
of  the  summer  season  were  added  flooding  rains  that 
necessitated  a  constant  repairing  of  washed -down 
defences.  Thus  weary  days  lengthened  into  tedious 
weeks,  and  the  weeks  formed  themselves  into  an 
unbroken  month  of  siege,  before  anything  hopeful 
happened.  Then  came  a  white  flag  from  the  Tsung 
Li  Yamen,  with  a  note  signed  "Prince  Ching  and 
others,"  asking  for  a  cessation  of  firing  that  nego- 
tiations for  the  departure  of  the  foreigners  might  be 
renewed. 

This  proposition  being  accepted,  active  hostilities 
on  both  sides  were  suspended  for  a  period  of  three 
weeks.  During  this  interval  the  inmates  of  the 
legations  were  as  closely  confined  to  their  lines  as 
ever,  and  hardly  a  day  passed  without  more  or  less 
rifle -firing. 


JO    HEAPS    COALS    OF    FIRE  253 

In  all  this  time  there  was  no  word  from  Jo,  nor 
any  proof  that  the  precious  message  intrusted  to 
him  ever  had  been  delivered.  There  were  rumors, 
filtering  through  Chinese  sources,  that  Tien-Tsin  had 
been  captured,  and  that  a  great  foreign  army  was 
marching  towards  Pekin;  but  these  rumors  could 
not  be  verified,  and  as  firing  on  the  legations,  espe- 
cially at  night,  was  again  begun,  the  situation  ap- 
peared more  hopeless  than  ever. 

Shortly  before  daylight,  on  the  loth  of  August,  a 
furious  fire  was  directed  against  the  legations,  be- 
ginning at  the  southwest,  or  Russian  corner,  and 
rapidly  extending  around  the  entire  circle.  While  it 
was  in  progress,  Rob  Hinckley,  who  again  was  sta- 
tioned on  the  wall,  thought  he  heard  the  signal  cry 
of  Hatton  Academy  coming  from  the  direction  of 
the  Ha-ta  watch-tower.  The  noise  of  the  cannonade 
and  the  rattle  of  musketry  were  so  tremendous  that 
he  could  not  be  sure,  but  he  ventured  an  answering 
cry,  and  then  breathlessly  listened.  Yes,  there  it 
was  again,  not  loud,  but  distinct,  and  apparently 
close  at  hand.  Rifle-bullets  from  the  Ha-ta  tower 
were  sweeping  the  wall  and  thudding  against  the 
tough  bricks  of  the  shelter  behind  which  crouched 
the  Americans. 

"Don't  shoot,  men!  I  am  going  out!"  cried  our 
lad.  As  he  spoke  he  leaped  the  low  barricade  and 
ran  to  the  outer  parapet,  from  which  the  call  had 
seemed  to  come. 

"Jo!"  he  shouted.     "Jo!  where  are  you?" 

"Here  I  am,  Rob,"  came  in  feeble  tone,  and  in 


254  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

another  moment  the  young  American  had  found  his 
friend  crawling  weakly  in  the  partial  shelter  of  the 
parapet,  but  at  the  very  end  of  his  strength. 

Somehow  Rob  got  him  behind  the  barricade,  where 
he  lay  panting. 

"What  is  it,  old  man?"  cried  his  friend,  bending 
anxiously  over  the  exhausted  and  pitiably  emaciated 
figure.  "Are  you  sick,  or  wounded,  or  what?  Did 
you  get  through  to  Tien-Tsin?  Are  troops  on  the 
way?" 

Jo's  eyes  were  closed,  and  he  barely  breathed; 
but  his  lips  moved,  and  Rob  caught  the  whispered 
words : 

"Army  most  here.  Look,  leg  bandage,  Rob,  dear 
friend — " 

That  was  all,  and  Chinese  Jo  never  spoke  again. 
The  last  great,  self-imposed  duty  of  his  life  had 
splendidly  been  performed,  but  at  what  expense  of 
suffering  never  can  be  known,  for  in  the  turmoil 
of  the  days  immediately  following  his  heroic  death 
he  was  forgotten.  Afterwards  General  Gasalee,  com- 
manding the  relieving  army,  could  only  say  that  he 
had  given  several  despatches  to  as  many  messen- 
gers, with  the  hope  that  at  least  one  of  them  might 
be  got  through.  The  one  borne  by  Jo  was  found 
hidden  in  a  blood-stained  cloth  bound  around  one 
of  his  legs.  It  was  a  brief  note  from  the  command- 
ing general,  stating  that  an  allied  force  of  twenty 
thousand  men,  British,  American,  Japanese,  and 
Russian,  were  fighting  their  way  towards  Pekin,  and 
making  such  steady  progress  that  they  expected  to 


JO    HEAPS    COALS    OF    FIRE  255 

be  at  Tung  Chou,  only  twelve  miles  away,  on  the 
1 2th,  and  to  reach  the  capital  by  the  i3th  or  i4th. 

This,  the  first  reliable  news  received  from  the  re- 
lieving army,  was  hailed  with  extravagant  joy  by 
the  long-imprisoned  inmates  of  the  British  Legation , 
and  for  hours  the  bulletin -board  on  which  it  was 
posted  was  surrounded  by  a  dense  throng  of  all 
nationalities,  many  of  whom  could  not  read  English, 
while  some  could  not  read  at  all,  but  all  anxious  to 
see  the  blessed  words  that  promised  them  speedy 
safety. 

The  story  of  Chinese  Jo's  bravery  was  told  from 
mouth  to  mouth  until  all  knew  it;  and  when,  that 
evening,  his  poor,  emaciated  body,  covered  with 
mute  evidences  of  his  sufferings  in  the  form  of  livid 
scars  and  unhealed  wounds,  was  laid  to  rest  in  the 
legation  grounds,  his  funeral  was  the  most  largely 
attended  of  any  during  the  siege.  Although  it  was 
not  a  military  funeral,  the  guns  of  his  own  country- 
men, firing  upon  those  he  had  given  his  life  to  save, 
thundered  a  requiem  alike  for  him  and  for  the 
dying  era  of  Chinese  national  life  that  was  about  to 
close. 

Again  Rob  Hinckley  and  Annabel  Lorimer  stood 
together  at  an  open  grave,  and  as  they  turned  away 
at  the  conclusion  of  the  simple  but  solemnly  impres- 
sive ceremony  of  committal,  the  latter  said,  with 
tear-choked  voice: 

"I  think  he  was  the  bravest  boy  I  ever  knew." 

"He  certainly  was,"  replied  Rob,  "and  also  he 
was  the  best  friend  I  ever  had." 


256  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

When  Sir  Claude  Macdonald  first  read  the  wel- 
come despatch  from  General  Gasalee,  and  at  the 
same  time  heard  that  its  bearer  was  dead,  he  ex- 
claimed: "What  a  pity  he  could  not  have  lived  to 
take  back  a  plan  of  the  city  walls,  showing  the  best 
place  of  entrance!" 

A  little  later  this  regret  became  generally  ex- 
pressed, but  it  did  not  reach  Rob  Hinckley's  ears 
until  the  day  after  Jo's  funeral.  Immediately  upon 
hearing  it,  he  went  to  the  American  minister  and 
offered  his  own  services  as  a  messenger  to  con- 
vey any  desired  information  to  the  approaching 
army. 

At  first  the  minister  refused  his  consent.  ' '  The 
southern  city,  as  well  as  the  country  between  here 
and  Tung  Chou,  is  crowded  with  the  enemy,"  he 
said,  "and  for  a  foreigner,  or  even  for  a  native  mes- 
senger, to  attempt  a  passage  through  them  would 
be  to  court  an  almost  certain  death." 

"My  friend  gave  his  life  for  us,"  replied  Rob, 
simply,  "and  he  was  a  Chinese  who  had  been  badly 
treated  by  Americans.  What  he  did  any  American 
ought  to  be  willing  to  do.  Besides,  I  believe  I  can 
get  through.  He  taught  me  how  to  travel  in  China 
as  a  Chinese,  and  now,  if  ever,  is  my  chance  to  profit 
by  his  lessons.  Please  let  me  go,  sir.  If  I  am 
killed,  it  will  only  be  one  life  lost;  if  I  get  through, 
the  information  I  can  give  about  the  water-gate 
may  save  thousands  of  lives." 

That  night  a  Chinese  beggar,  apparently  old  and 
on  the  verge  of  starvation,  clad  in  the  filthiest  of 


JO    HEAPS    COALS    OF    FIRE  357 

rags,  and  with  a  scanty,  unkempt  queue  coiled  in 
slovenly  manner  about  his  half-shaven  head,  hobbled, 
by  aid  of  a  stick,  towards  the  low  water-gate,  under 
the  Tartar  City  wall,  that  carried  off  the  surplus 
water  of  the  imperial  canal.  This  gate  nominally 
was  closed  by  iron  bars,  and  in  times  of  flood  was 
impassable;  but  now  there  was  little  water  flowing 
through  it,  and  it  was  only  choked  with  black  mud. 
Above  it  was  that  section  of  the  city  wall  held  by 
American  marines. 

Fumbling  in  the  darkness  of  this  almost -forgotten 
water-gate,  the  beggar  found  a  bar  so  rusted  and 
worn  by  age  that  he  could  force  a  way  through. 
When  he  emerged  on  the  other  side  of  the  wall  he 
was  covered  with  black,  vile-smelling  mud.  It  ren- 
dered him  so  disgusting  an  object  that  even  a  Chi- 
nese could  not  tolerate  his  presence,  and,  whenever 
he  approached  one  with  a  whining  plea  for  alms, 
he  was  driven  away  with  blows  and  curses.  Thus 
he  wandered  on  from  group  to  group,  through  many 
streets,  until  he  came  to  a  gate  in  the  eastern  wall 
of  the  southern  city  that  was  guarded  by  a  troop 
of  Chinese  cavalry.  These  amused  themselves  by 
teasing  him,  until,  at  length,  one  of  them,  tired  of 
the  sport,  said: 

"Oh!  Put  him  outside,  and  let  the  old  bag  of 
bones  go  to  the  foreign  devils.  They  will  stuff  him 
full  of  bullets  and  make  him  fat." 

So  the  gate  was  opened  a  little  way,  and  the 
beggar  was  thrust  through  it  at  the  points  of  a 
dozen  spears,  some  of  which  pricked  him  cruelly. 

17 


258  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

Thus  driven  from  the  city,  he  continued  his  way, 
walking  more  strongly  now  than  he  had  before,  over 
the  great  stone  road  leading  to  Tung  Chou. 

With  sunrise  there  was  borne  to  his  ears  the  start- 
ling sounds  of  heavy  firing  in  the  east,  the  boom  of 
field-artillery,  the  rat -tat -tat  of  machine-guns, 
and  the  sharp,  volleying  crash  of  musketry.  Then 
came  the  roar  of  a  heavy  explosion,  and  he  felt  the 
earth  tremble  as  though  from  a  distant  earthquake. 
Fugitive  Chinese  soldiers,  many  of  them  wounded, 
began  to  appear  and  hurry  past  him.  A  little  later, 
as  they  threatened  to  throng  the  highway,  he  with- 
drew to  a  cluster  of  ruined  mud -huts  marking  the 
site  of  an  abandoned  village.  Here,  desperately 
weary,  he  flung  himself  on  the  ground,  and  almost 
instantly  fell  asleep.  An  hour  or  two  afterwards 
he  awoke  and  cautiously  peered  from  his  shelter. 
The  highway  was  deserted,  and,  regaining  it,  he 
again  pressed  on  towards  Tung  Chou. 

At  length,  the  city  wall  was  so  close  at  hand  that 
he  could  hear  bugle -calls  sounding  beyond  it.  As 
he  eagerly  listened  to  the  familiar  notes,  a  rifle-shot 
came,  without  warning,  from  a  ruined  village  sim- 
ilar to  that  in  which  he  had  rested.  The  beggar 
was  spun  half-way  round,  and  felt  a  stinging  sen- 
sation in  his  right  shoulder.  A  moment  later  half 
a  dozen  Japanese  soldiers,  forming  a  scouting  party, 
sprang  from  the  ruins  and  ran  towards  him,  laugh- 
ing at  the  sorry  figure  he  cut.  One  of  them  drew  a 
pistol  and  was  about  to  put  him  out  of  the  misery 
indicated  by  his  appearance,  when,  to  their  amaze- 


JO    HEAPS    COALS    OF    FIRE  259 

ment,  he  shouted  to  them  in  a  language  that  they 
knew  to  be  English : 

' '  I  am  American !     Take  me  to  General  Chaff ee ! ' ' 

After  a  parley  he  managed  to  make  them  under- 
stand, and  shortly  afterwards  he  stood  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  stern  -  featured,  keen -eyed  American 
commander. 

"  Well,  sir!  Who  are  you?  What  do  you  want?" 
demanded  the  general. 

"I  have  just  come  from  Pekin  with  this  plan  of 
the  walls,  sent  by  the  American  minister,  and  my 
name  is  Robert  Hinckley,"  was  the  reply. 

The  words  were  hardly  uttered  when  an  officer, 
who  had  been  writing  in  another  part  of  the  room, 
sprang  to  his  feet  and  confronted  the  disguised  lad 
with  incredulous  eyes. 


CHAPTER   XXX 

THE    CAPTURE    OF    PEKIN 

CAPTAIN  JOHN  ASTLEY,  of  Z  Battery,  Light  Artil- 
lery, U.S.A.,  had  thought  often  of  the  lad  who  had 
crossed  the  Pacific  with  him,  and  when  he  received 
the  order  to  proceed  with  his  battery  to  China  he 
wondered  if,  by  any  chance,  he  should  again  meet 
his  young  friend.  In  the  rush  of  events  that  fol- 
lowed Rob  was  quite  forgotten,  until  a  strange  co- 
incidence brought  his  name  so  prominently  to  the 
front  that  it  was  mentioned  almost  daily.  Cap- 
tain Astley  even  hoped  to  find  the  lad  in  Pekin,  and 
had  anticipated  the  joyful  recognition  that  would 
accompany  their  meeting.  Now,  therefore,  as  he 
sat  writing  in  General  Chaffee's  temporary  head- 
quarters, near  the  Tung  Chou  gateway,  blown  up 
by  the  Japanese  that  very  morning,  the  name  ut- 
tered by  the  Chinese  beggar  under  examination  in- 
stantly attracted  his  attention. 

"I  beg  your  pardon,  general,"  he  said,  "but  this 
person  has  just  mentioned  a  name  well  known  to 
me.  Have  I  your  permission  to  question  him?" 

"Yes;  question  all  you  please,"  replied  General 
Chaffee,  who  already  was  absorbed  in  the  plan  of 
Pekin  walls  and  the  accompanying  description  of 

260 


THE    CAPTURE    OF   PEKIN  26l 

their  weak  points  that  had  so  opportunely  come 
to  him. 

"Can  you  possibly  be  the  Rob  Hinckley  who 
crossed  the  Pacific  to  Manila  in  the  transport  Logan 
last  March?"  asked  the  artillery  officer,  eagerly,  of 
the  wretched-looking  figure  that,  trembling  with 
weakness,  stood  before  him. 

"I  am,  sir;  and  you  are  Captain  John  Astley,  of 
Battery  Z,"  was  the  reply. 

"Good  Heavens,  Rob!  It  seems  impossible;  and 
it  is  absolutely  incredible  that  any  human  being 
could  be  so  completely  disguised  and  so  utterly 
changed.  How  in  the  name  of — ?  But  I  won't 
ask  a  question,  though  I  am  nearly  choked  by  a 
thousand  that  are  clamorous  for  utterance.  There 
is  a  dear  friend  of  yours  somewhere  outside,  and  I 
must  bring  him  in,  so  that  all  of  us  may  hear  your 
story  together.  General — " 

Here  the  speaker  said  a  few  words  to  the  com- 
mander in  so  low  a  tone  that  Rob  could  not  catch 
them,  and  hastily  left  the  room. 

In  less  than  a  minute  he  returned,  accompanied 
by  an  excited  but  puzzled-looking  gentleman,  clad 
in  semi-military  uniform,  who,  hastily  saluting  the 
general,  turned  immediately  to  where  Rob  still  was 
standing. 

"Here  he  is,  my  boy!"  cried  Captain  Astley,  ex- 
ultingly.  "Your  own  daddy!  We  found  him  in 
Shanghai  fretting  his  life  out  over  his  lost  family, 
and  brought  him  along  as  battery  surgeon.  But, 
hello!  What's  the  matter?  Why  don't  you  rush 


262  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

into  each  other's  arms?  Do  you  need  an  intro- 
duction?" 

Father  and  son  were  staring  curiously  at  each 
other. 

"Is  it  possible  that  you  are  my  own  little  Rob?" 
gasped  the  former. 

"Are  you  really  my  father?"  interrogated  Rob, 
gazing  doubtfully  at  the  white-headed  man  who 
now  was  said  to  be  the  same  young,  dark-haired 
parent  that  had  bidden  him  farewell  in  America 
years  before. 

"If  you  are  Rob,"  continued  Dr.  Hinckley,  husk- 
ily, tell  me  what  has  become  of  my  wife  —  your 
mother.  Is  she  alive  or  dead?" 

"She  is  alive  and  safe  in  Cheng-Ting- Fu." 

"Thank  God!  Thank  God!"  cried  the  overjoyed 
man,  with  tears  rolling  down  his  cheeks.  "But, 
Rob —  Good  Heavens!" 

With  this  he  sprang  forward  and  caught  the  lad, 
who  was  tottering  and  evidently  about  to  fall.  Loss 
of  blood  from  his  wound,  strain,  excitement,  and 
exhaustion — all  had  done  their  work — and  every- 
thing swam  before  his  failing  sight  as  his  surgeon- 
father  gently  laid  him  down. 

The  next  day,  when  the  relieving  army,  which 
had  fought  its  way  mile  by  mile  from  the  distant 
sea,  made  its  final  dash  for  Pekin,  Rob  Hinckley 
followed  it  in  an  ambulance,  tossing  and  muttering 
incoherently  in  the  unconsciousness  of  a  high  fever. 

Within  the  city  the  excitement  on  that  memo- 
rable 1 3th  of  August  was  intense.  Foreign  guns 


THE    CAPTURE    OF    PEKIN  263 

thundered  against  its  massive  walls  and  stout  gates 
from  noon  until  dark,  while  from  the  lofty  battle- 
ments swarms  of  Chinese  sharp  -  shooters  replied 
with  so  furious  a  rifle-fire  that  none  dared  cross  the 
death-swept  zone. 

Inside  the  walls  the  bombardment  of  the  legation 
defences  was  continuous  all  that  day  and  all  through 
the  night  that  followed.  Nor  were  the  besieged  for- 
eigners silent ;  but  through  the  long  hours  the  bay- 
ing of  their  Nordenfeldt  gun,  the  vicious  barking  of 
their  Colt's  automatic,  the  growl  of  "Old  Betsy," 
the  Chinese  six-pounder  that  they  had  found  and 
converted  to  their  own  use,  and  the  sharp  yelping 
of  their  rifle -fire  were  heard  unceasingly. 

During  the  morning  of  the  i4th  the  bombardment 
of  the  city  was  continued,  the  Japanese  being  held 
at  bay  outside  a  stoutly  defended  eastern  gate,  which 
they  only  succeeded  in  blowing  up  and  carrying 
after  dark  that  night.  At  the  same  time  the  Rus- 
sians were  caught  in  a  death-trap  at  the  next  gate- 
way on  the  south,  where  they  easily  had  forced  the 
outer  gate,  but  could  make  no  impression  upon  the 
inner.  Here  their  chief  of  staff  was  killed,  and  many 
of  their  men,  before  they  extricated  themselves  and 
retired  to  a  safe  distance. 

After  that  the  Americans  tried  the  same  entrance, 
stormed  it,  scaled  the  lofty  wall,  charged  down  the 
inner  ramp,  gained  possession,  opened  the  gate,  and 
found  themselves  inside  the  southern  city.  From 
this  point  they  fought  their  way  through  a  net -work 
of  alleys  and  streets,  swarming  with  Chinese  rifle- 


264  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

men,  to  the  water-gate  beneath  the  Tartar  wall, 
concerning  which  Rob  Hinckley  had  furnished  them 
with  information. 

In  the  mean  time  the  British  column,  assigned  to 
a  gate  still  farther  south,  had  the  marvellous  good- 
fortune  to  find  it  undefended.  So  they  simply 
marched  in,  traversed  the  southern  city,  taking 
possession  of  the  Temple  of  Heaven  en  route,  made 
their  way  to  Rob's  water-gate,  waded  through  its 
mud,  and,  to  their  own  amazement  as  well  as  that 
of  every  one  else,  found  themselves  not  only  in  the 
heart  of  Pekin  almost  without  having  fired  a  shot, 
but  within  the  lines  of  legation  defence  as  well. 

The  first  officer  of  the  relieving  army  to  pass 
through  the  water-gate  was  Major  Scott,  of  the  ist 
Sikh's,  and  with  him  were  four  of  his  men.  Then 
came  General  Gasalee  and  his  staff,  followed  by  the 
Sikh  regiment,  the  ist  Bengal  Lancers,  a  detach- 
ment of  Welsh  fusileers,  a  field  battery,  the  Hong- 
Kong  regiment,  and  a  detachment  of  Royal  marines. 

A  few  minutes  later  came  the  Americans,  cheering 
their  flag  and  their  weary  comrades,  who  for  two 
months  had  held  the  wall.  They  also  came  through 
the  famous  water-gate  that  Chinese  blindness  had 
failed  to  obstruct.  General  Chaff ee  led  the  way,  and 
he  was  followed  by  five  hundred  marines,  the  i4th 
and  gth  regiments  of  infantry,  two  Hotchkiss  guns, 
and  Battery  Z. 

The  siege  of  the  legations  was  ended,  the  reliev- 
ing army  was  in  possession  of  Pekin,  the  Empress 
Dowager,  together  with  the  Emperor  and  the  whole 


THE    CAPTURE    OF    PEKIN  265 

imperial  court  had  fled,  and  the  ill-advised,  sav- 
agely brutal,  but  long-continued  effort  to  drive  for- 
eigners from  Chinese  soil  had  come  to  an  ignomini- 
ous ending.  Had  China  been  united,  the  struggle 
might  have  been  prolonged  for  years,  though  it 
never  could  have  succeeded;  but  China  was  "a 
house  divided  against  itself."  Out  of  the  eighteen 
provinces  only  three  took  part  in  the  movement, 
the  others  being  either  opposed  to  it  or  indifferent 
as  to  its  outcome. 

The  Empress  Dowager,  who  hated  the  very  idea 
of  reforms  based  upon  foreign  models,  was  opposed 
by  the  Emperor,  who  desired  them.  The  prime- 
minister,  Prince  Tuan,  bitterly  anti-foreign,  found 
his  schemes  opposed  by  Prince  Ching  and  the  ever- 
politic  Li  Hung  Chang.  The  bloody  Kwang-su  gen- 
eral, Tung-Fu-Hsang,  who  thirsted  for  the  blood 
of  foreigners,  was  thwarted  in  his  plans  for  their 
destruction  by  the  more  wary  General  Jung  Lu,  who 
ordered  his  troops  not  to  kill  any  more  than  they 
could  help. 

So  Pekin  fell,  almost  without  a  struggle,  and  for 
a  year  afterwards  the  city  was  misruled  and  looted 
by  foreign  soldiers,  who  destroyed  many  of  its  most 
beautiful  structures  and  carried  away  its  most  pre- 
cious works  of  art.  From  it  also  they  ravaged  the 
surrounding  country,  sending  out  punishment  ex- 
peditions to  kill,  burn,  and  destroy  in  every  direction. 

In  the  mean  time  the  American  troops  had  been 
followed  into  the  city  by  a  train  of  the  biggest  army 
wagons  ever  seen  in  China,  each  drawn  by  six  huge 


266  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

mules,  and  by  a  number  of  four-mule  ambulances, 
one  of  which  brought  Rob  Hinckley.  From  it  he 
was  transferred  to  a  hospital,  where  he  lay  for  weeks 
with  no  knowledge  of  his  surroundings  or  of  what 
was  happening  about  him.  Then  one  day  he  opened 
his  eyes  and  looked  into  the  face  of  his  mother. 

Of  course  he  knew  that  this  was  a  dream,  for  all 
things  were  but  dreams  with  him  now,  so  he  wearily 
closed  his  unreliable  eyes  and  went  to  sleep.  The 
next  time  he  opened  them  he  again  saw  his  moth- 
er's face,  bending  lovingly,  but  oh!  so  anxiously, 
over  him.  This  time  the  dream  lasted  until  she 
gently  kissed  his  forehead,  and  he  heard  her  say: 
"Please,  dear  God,  don't  take  him  from  us!"  Then 
he  knew  that  he  was  awake  and  must  make  haste 
to  get  up,  because  it  troubled  his  mother  to  have 
him  lie  there.  Besides,  it  was  very  silly  not  to  be 
able  to  raise  his  hands.  A  little  later  it  occurred 
to  him  to  wonder  if  he  were  in  Cheng-Ting-Fu,  or, 
if  not,  how  it  happened  that  his  mother  had  come 
away  from  so  safe  a  place  into  one  so  full  of  danger 
as  Pekin. 

By-and-by  they  told  him  all  about  the  expedition 
that,  accompanied  by  his  father,  had  been  sent 
down  the  road  from  Pekin,  how  terribly  it  had 
punished  Pao-Ting-Fu  for  its  murder  of  mission- 
aries, and  how  it  had  gone  on  to  Cheng-Ting-Fu 
to  find  all  the  foreigners  who  had  taken  refuge  be- 
hind its  brave  walls  safe  and  unharmed.  He  learned 
of  his  parents'  joyful  reunion,  and  how  they  had 
hastened  back  to  Pekin  and  his  bedside.  Gradually, 


THE    CAPTURE    OF    PEKIN  267 

too,  he  was  told  the  thrilling  story  of  his  father's 
escape  from  the  dreadful  city  of  Tai-Yuan,  of  his 
perilous  wanderings  through  Shan-Si  and  Ho-nan, 
until  finally  he  found  himself  on  a  branch  of  the 
Han  River,  down  which  he  floated  for  many  nights 
in  a  skiff  to  Hankow.  From  there  he  was  taken 
on  a  United  States  gun-boat  to  Shanghai,  where  he 
met  Mr.  Bishop,  the  engineer,  and  learned  that  his 
boy  had  plunged  into  the  very  heart  of  the  storm 
of  wrath  then  centring  about  Pekin. 

During  his  days  of  convalescence,  while  Rob  was 
learning  of  all  these  things,  he  saw  much  of  the  Lor- 
imers,  who  had  refused  to  leave  Pekin  until  assured 
that  the  lad,  to  whom  they  felt  they  were  so  largely 
indebted  for  their  own  safety,  was  himself  out  of 
danger. 

Then  the  two  families  left  the  city  in  which  they 
had  suffered  and  endured  so  much,  and  travelled 
together  over  the  reconstructed  railway  to  Tien- 
Tsin,  where  they  took  steamer  for  Shanghai.  There 
Rob  found  his  trunk,  together  with  the  money  due 
him  for  services  rendered,  that  had  been  forwarded 
from  Canton  by  Mr.  Bishop.  He  also  found  several 
letters  from  the  engineer,  who  had  learned  so  highly 
to  appreciate  the  lad's  pluck,  manliness,  and  ready 
resource  during  the  long  journey  they  had  taken 
together  that  he  now  offered  him  a  permanent  and 
well-paid  position  on  the  proposed  American  railway. 

About  this  same  time  Mr.  Lorimer,  who  was 
president  of  a  great  American  life  insurance  com- 
pany, offered  Dr.  Hinckley  the  post  of  chief  medical 


268  THE    BLUE    DRAGON 

examiner  in  China  for  his  company,  which  was  about 
to  extend  its  operations  into  that  country. 

It  is  almost  needless  to  say  that  both  these  offers 
were  promptly  accepted,  and  before  the  Lorimers 
took  steamer  for  America  and  the  last  stage  of  their 
eventful  journey  around  the  world,  Dr.  and  Mrs. 
Hinckley  were  already  settled  in  the  Shanghai  house 
that  was  to  be  their  future  home. 

Rob  left  them  there  when  he  went  to  Canton  to 
assume  his  new  duties;  but  he  rejoins  them  in  July 
of  each  year,  when  father,  mother,  and  son  go  to- 
gether to  Japan  for  a  happy  month  among  its  life- 
giving  mountains. 

The  strong  friendship  cemented  between  Annabel 
and  Rob  during  those  terrible  Pekin  days  has  since 
been  maintained  by  means  of  frequent  letters,  and 
both  await  with  eager  anticipations  the  autumn  of 
1904,  when  the  Hinckleys  are  to  revisit  their  own 
country  and  join  the  Lorimers  on  a  trip  to  the 
World's  Fair  at  St.  Louis. 

In  talking  it  all  over,  Mrs.  Hinckley  often  ex- 
claims: "How  wonderful  are  the  ways  of  Provi- 
dence!" and  whenever  Rob  hears  her  speak  thus, 
he  adds: 

"Yes,  mother,  and  how  splendidly  were  the  de- 
signs of  Providence  carried  out  by  Chinese  Jo!" 


THE    END 


UCSB  UBHAJUf 


(1C  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 


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